Naruto-sensei
by simplygone
Summary: Naruto, now a Jounin, has been given his own team of Genin to lead. During their training a new evil begins to rise. How will Naruto's teachings prepare these young Genin for the struggle that is to come? [NaruSaku] [This is a rewrite to the Chronicles of Kurosaki Hiroshi.]
1. Genin

**This is a rewrite of The Chronicles of Kurosaki Hiroshi which I've renamed to Naruto-sensei.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**[Introduction Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Genin**

The sun rose over a horizon of endless green trees. The light tapped on a huge closed gate and wall, it slowly crept over the said wall and into the village the stone wall surrounded. It extended its reach to a run down, old apartment building. The light entered a window of one of the units, it was a big, one room apartment. The bed sat in the corner of the room, it had sone life to it. Hanging on the wall above the bed was a poster with Konoha's leaf symbol. Nearby was sat a table with four chairs. The table was clean. Suddenly the life form that was under the sheets began to stir and groan. The sounds coming from the life form made it seem it didn't want to wake up. Suddenly the covers revealed a man in his mid twenties, wearing a black shirt and boxers. Another life form was lying next to him, but didn't stir one bit. The one that did get up, his spikey, blonde hair was messy as if he didn't combed it for months. His eyes opened to reveal ice blue. The blonde yawned heavily and finally stood up and stretched. He walked to the kitchen portion of the apartment. He opened a pantry door, taking out a cup of instant ramen. He turned on the stove to begin heating up some water. Once it started to boil, the blond poured some of it in the cup and waited. Three minutes later, he began eating it. The blonde decided to eat by the window for some unknown reason. He gazed out over teh village which just came to life with people walking through the streets. Suddenly the blonde heard a voice.

"Naruto?" asked a female voice. "You okay?"

Naruto looked into the direction the female voice. Her short pink-haired was messy from her night sleep. She was wearing a pink tee and black shorts.

"Yeah I'm fine Sakura-chan," Naruto replied. "I just felt like look out while eating."

Sakura smiled and walked over to him, wrapping his arms around him. He welcomed the embrace. Soon they began to kiss. Right into their hot make out session, Naruto and Sakura heard a familiar noise. The broke their kiss and looked out the window finding two birds from the messenger unit flying around the window.

"Oh damn it, not now," the blonde said. Sakura let go of Naruto as he walked to the closet and took out some clothes and headed for the bathroom. Sakura, a smile crept on her face and went to the bathroom too. About fifteen minutes later, the blonde walked out. He was now wearing dark blue long sleeve shirt with a red spiral on both arms, dark blue pants with white bandages wrapped around his ankles. He wore his blue open-toe Shinobi sandals and a standard Jounin flak jacket. He grabbed his Konoha forehead protector and tied it across his forehead. Shortly after, Sakura came out wearing the same. Naruto grabbed his keys as he and Sakura left his apartment. Naruto locked the door and the began heading for the Hokage tower.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura, hand in hand, reached the Hokage tower. The climbed what seemed like an endless stairway. Finally the reached a long curved hallway and found the Hokage's office. Naruto knocked on the door.

"Come in," yelled a female voice from the other side of the door. The blonde opened the door to find some other people as well.

"Tsunade-shishou, you called us?" asked Sakura.

The woman, who was older with long sandy blonde hair which was tied into two tails and was wearing a grey robe over a beige shirt underneath which showed he impressive cleavage. She also had on black pants and was wearing high heels. She unintentionally ignored Sakura's question.

"What's going on Tsunade-baachan?" asked Naruto. The got her attention because it caused a nerve to pop out of Tsunade's forehead.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that!" she yelled but soon enough Tsunade regained her composure. "Anyway, I know you're all wondering what I called you all here for so let me just cut to the chase. This year, you all are getting Genin students."

Naruto just stared. He just made Jounin just a year and a half ago and now he was going to lead his own Genin team now. His big trademark grin became written across his face while he tried to stay calm. Inside his mind, he was jumping up and down like a little kid in a candy store. He was happy, just recently he finally got the woman of his dreams and now his very own Genin team to lead.

"You're to report to the academy after lunch today to meet your new teams, with that being said, you're all dismissed," Tsunade said and everyone began clearing out of her office.

Naruto and Sakura left the building hand in hand again. He was grinning like mad. Sakura couldn't help but smile herself, she was proud of her Naruto.

"Wow, my own team," Naruto said, "I can't believe it."

"It was quite a shock; Tsunade-shishou actually giving you a team, I just hope you didn't get them all killed," Sakura teased, laughing. Naruto looked at her with mock hurt eyes, but he knew it was a joke.

"Ha ha, very funny Sakura-chan," Naruto said. She just smiled and pulled him to her and kissed him.

"I love you," she said to him. Naruto looked into her eyes.

"I love you too, Sakura-chan," he replied with a smile.

"Well, I guess I better get ready to meet this Genin team of mine, I'll see you later tonight then," said Sakura.

"Yeah, I got to get some things done before I head over to the academy myself, I'll see you tonight," replied Naruto. The two shared another kiss and went their seperate ways for the day.

* * *

The morning sun shined brightly over the village. People had gathered into the streets, walking into shops, restaurants and other assortment of buildings. They were talking, laughing away without a care in the world unless they bumped into a twelve year old kid running like if he was being chased down by a bunch of S-Class Missing-nin.

"Sorry!" the boy kept shouting over and over to each person he accidently ran into. The boy had spikey, medium length light brown hair. He wore a pair of goggles above his forehead. He wore a white tee with the Konoha leaf symbol on the back and black shorts. His green eyes shined when the sunlight hit them. Just then, the boy ran into something, it had to be the hundredth person today.

"Ouch!" yelled a bald older man wearing a white tee and apron he looked down to see it was a boy, "Damn it Kurosaki, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry about that sir, I'm in a hurry; I'm going to be late!" said the boy frantically.

"Still, be careful of where you're going," said the man, still annoyed. With that being said, the boy bowed and continued running to his destination.

"Ah man, I'm really late," the boy said. "Of all days, why'd I have to wake up late today?"

He continued to run as if his life depended on it when he finally reached his destination. Konoha's Ninja Academy. He entered the school and ran down the hall into his classroom. Inside the classroom he met with a man wearing a Chuunin flak jacket over his black long-sleeved shirt with the red spiral on both his arms, wearing black pants and bandages around his ankle with his blue open-toe Shinobi sandals. His brown hair was tied back in a pony tail at the back of his head. The man had a long noticable scar running across the middle of his face.

"You're late!" yelled the man.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, I woke up late," the boy said apologizing.

Iruka sighed, "It's all right Hiroshi, as long as you're here."

Hiroshi smiled and breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn't started the class yet. He took his seat next to another male around his age.

"I thought you weren't going to make it," said the boy Hiroshi just sat next to, "It would have been a shame if you missed today of all days."

"Shut up Shiro," Hiroshi said in annoyance.

Shiro just laughed. His long raven hair constantly got into his eyes. So you couldn't tell when he was serious or joking around. He wore an unusual white robe that was prominent in his clan. He wore grey pants and the standard blue open-toe Shinobi sandals. When he did take his hair out of his eyes, the showed they were the same color as his hair. Some of the students in their class were afraid of him, but not Hiroshi. Infact, Hiroshi and Shiro had been friends for as long as they could remember since their clans lived right next door to each other.

"Alright class, you all know what today is," Iruka said, starting the class. The whole class yelled back with some sort of answer the pretained to the word "yes".

"The final exam will be on the **Bunshin no Jutsu**," Iruka continued. The children mingled among themselves, all excited about passing the final exam so they could become Genin, at least that's what they were thinking.

"Ready for this test Hiroshi-kun?" asked a seemingly shy girl who was sitting next to Hiroshi on his left side. Her long purple hair flowed down her back like a magnificent waterfall, according to Hiroshi's mind. Her hazel eyes were no match for any other girls in their class. She wore a black jacket that was half zipped up. Underneath was a purple shirt matching her hair. Her black jacket had the red swirl on the back while the bottom of it hung loosely over her black pants. She too wore the open-toe Shinobi sandles except hers were purple.

"Yes I am, Himawari-chan," said Hiroshi with a smile.

Iruka got the class's attention again, "Alright, when I call your name, please come forward.

Iruka began reading names off his list. When their names were called they went to the front of the class and performed their **Bunshin no Jutsu**. Some did excellent, one of the students actually didn't do so great.

"This is going to be simple," Shiro said to Hiroshi.

"You said it," Hiroshi replied. Iruka read off more names until he reached the K's. Himawari and Hiroshi purked up and gave their full attention waiting to be called.

"Kubo Himawari, you're up," Iruka called out. Himawari got up and walked to the front of class. She then made a hand seal.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu**!" she said a cloud of smoke appeared and then cleared away revealing two exact replications of Himawari standing on both sides of the real Himawari.

"Congradulations Himawari, you pass," Iruka said. Himawari smiled and walked to the table that had the forehead protectors laid out. A man with black hair wearing the traditional Konoha uniform with the Chuunin flak jacket handed her one.

"Thank you," Himawari said and walked out of the class room. Iruka then called two more names.

"Kurosaki Hiroshi, you're up," Iruka called out. Hiroshi got up from his seat and walked to the front of the class. Hiroshi stood there for a couple of minutes gathering his thoughts and finally made a hand seal.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Hiroshi yelled as a cloud of smoke appeared and then cleared away revealing on both sides of the real Hiroshi, two exact replications, he had made four altogether.

"Very good, you created four replications, double the minimum," Iruka said while clapping.

"Thanks," Hiroshi replied.

"You pass," said Iruka. Hiroshi then walked to the table where the black-haired Chuunin stood and handed Hiroshi a Konoha forehead protector. Hiroshi took it and bowed and walked out of the classroom staring at it.

_'Wow, I did it. I became a ninja, I'll cherish this forehead protector,'_ Hiroshi thought to himself. Once out of the classroom, he noticed Himawari was waiting of him.

"Did you pass, Hiroshi-kun?" she asked.

"Of couse I did, Himawari-chan!" he replied smiling and showing her his forehead protector which he tied across his forehead. Himawari had tied hers around her right arm.

Soon after Shiro came out of the classroom hilding his forehead protector while smiling evilly while looking at Hiroshi.

"What?" Hiroshi asked, kind of spooked.

"I did five replications," Shiro said. Hiroshi just ignored him.

After the exam was over, Iruka called everybody that passed back into the classroom. Each student sat down in their seats and waited.

"Alright, now that you've all passed, it's time to announce the teams before lunch," Iruka finally said. He looked down at his clipboard and began reading off a team number and three students that would be on that team. It was a slow moving progress but he was getting through the list.

"Team Eleven, Kurosaki Hiroshi," began Iruka.

Hiroshi looked up after he heard his name called, hoping his teammates would be his friends.

"Kubo Himawari and Suzuki Shiro, you three are Team Eleven," Iruka finished. Hiroshi was glad he got his wish. His friends were also going to be his teammates, it would definately make things easier for him.

"Cool, we're a team." Hiroshi said giving a thumbs up to both Shiro and Himawari.

"Team Twelve will consist of Kamizuki Ankoku, Botsuraku Aki and Burakku Shinji," Iruka said.

Ankoku was the badass of the class, though he was made fun of because of his lavender hair which did not look good on a boy but he didn't care. His brown eyes didn't go with those lavender locks that came down past his ears but he didn't care about that either. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt with blue pants. He was the quiet, back of the classroom type kids as well, but he became the badass when it came to fighting. Aki had long, strawberry kissed hair; it was quite beautiful on her. It went well with her shimmering blue eyes. She wore a lavender jumpsuit shirt with black pants. Shinji had messy black hair, it looked like hurricane force winds blew through it for days and it was obvious he didn't care about grooming it. His dark brown eyes showed a slight shade of loneliness. He was a black tee shirt with black pants, the typical ninja attire.

"I find it amusing those three stay together as well," Hiroshi said.

Himawari and Shiro smiled and nodded. Iruka finally finished naming off the teams and dismissed the class for lunch after he assigned each team which classroom the teams would meet their new Sensei.

* * *

After lunch, Hiroshi, Shiro and Himawari reached the classroom they were assigned to so they could meet their new Sensei. Himawari and Shiro took a seat in the front row while Hiroshi went to the chalkboard and grabbed and eraser.

"What are you doing?" asked Shiro, slightly annoyed with Hiroshi's actions.

"You'll see," Hiroshi replied with an evil chuckle. Hiroshi opened the door just enough to put the eraser at the top and closed the door to hold the eraser in place.

"You really think a Jounin is going to fall for that?" asked Himawari but she was amused by it none the less.

"Hopefully, I need a good laugh," Hiroshi responded. Himawari and Shiro got up from their seat and stood next to Hiroshi staring anxiously at the door, waiting for that moment Hiroshi was looking for. Soon enough, a hand reached through the open space and the door opened. A spikey-blonde head peaked inside only to have the eraser fall onto the man's head. Hiroshi was about to crack up laughing when the figure vanished in smoke, it was a **bunshin**.

"Crap," Hiroshi said, disappointed.

"Thought you could get me with that old trick?" a voice from behind the students said. Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro turned around to see a man with spikey blonde hair wearing his dark blue long-sleeve shirt with the red spiral on both arms, dark blue pands with bandages wrapped around his ankle up to his shin and his blue open-toe sandals as well as his Jounin flak jacket.

"Well I was hoping," Hiroshi confessed.

"Please, I did that same trick on my Sensei when I first became a ninja, I won't fall for that," the blonde said, amused.

"Damn," was the only word Hiroshi could muster out. The blonde just continued to smile.

"Come on, we're going to my favorite spot so we can get fully aquainted.

Shortly after, they were all sitting ontop of the Fourth Hokage's head.

"Alright guys, I want you three to introduce yourselves," the spikey blonde said.

"Well what do you want to know?" asked Shiro.

"You know, the simple stuff like your name, hobbies, goals for the future," replied the blonde.

"You go first then Sensei," Himawari said.

"Alright then, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. My hobbies are eating all types of ramen and my goal for the future is to become Hokage," the blonde said with a big smile.

"Now let's start with you," Naruto said, pointing at Hiroshi.

"My name is Kurosaki Hiroshi; my hobbies are training with my father and brother as well as traveling. My goal is mainly to became as strong if not stronger than my father."

"Interesting Hiroshi, how about you?" asked Naruto, pointing to Shiro.

"My name is Suzuki Shiro, I don't really have any hobbies and my goal is to just make my parents proud of me as a Shinobi," replied Shiro.

"Well that really isn't much of a goal Shiro," Naruto said with concern.

"I can always develop more goals later on," Shiro added. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Alright, you're next," the blonde said pointing to Himawari.

"My name is Kubo Himawari. My hobby is gardening with my mother and my goal is to become the strongest Kunoichi in Konoha's history," she said with pride.

"Well that was great," Naruto said. "Alright, tomorrow morning we will meet up again at the training grounds at five in the morning."

"Five in the morning!?" yelled Hiroshi. "Are you freakin' crazy?"

"Five in the morning, that's that," Naruto said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Son of a- Ugh that's too early," protested Hiroshi. Naruto appeared again.

"And I forgot to tell you guys something, don't eat breakfast becaue you'll puke," he said and disappered again.

"Damn it," was all Hiroshi could say.

* * *

Night had fallen on Konoha. Naruto and Sakura sat in Ichiraku's for dinner. Hiroshi walked in and didn't notice Naruto right away until he heard him say something.

"So you got stuck with the emo squad then, Sakura-chan?" he asked.

"Don't call them that you big jerk!" laughed Sakura.

"Oi, Naruto-sensei?" spoke the kid.

Naruto and Sakura turned their attention to the boy that was sitting next to them.

"Hiroshi, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"I'm here because my parents were sent on a mission, they left me money to get food and stuff I need," replied Hiroshi, he seemed a little upset and Naruto saw it in Hiroshi's eyes. A feeling Naruto knew all to well while growing up; Loneliness.

"Lonely, eh kid?" asked Naruto.

"A bit, but I'm fine," Hiroshi replied with a smile.

"That's good," Naruto responded. The two ate their ramen while Sakura just watched on.

"You should get hom and get some Hiroshi, tomorrow's a big day," Naruto said getting up from his seat and placing money on the counter. He grabbed Sakura's hand.

"I am Naruto-sensei," Hiroshi said paying for his meal as well. "See you tomorrow."

Naruto waved him off as Hiroshi headed home. Naruto and Sakura turned the other direction to head to their apartment.

_'Hmm, I wonder how much spunk that kid's got, I'll definately find out tomorrow.'_

"I'm guessing that was one of your students Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah," Naruto replied.

"Cute kid," she said with a smile. The two kissed and headed back home for the night, both had big days with their Genin squads.

* * *

**This is the rewrite and I decided to add some NaruSaku to the mix.**

**Next Up: Chapter 2: Test**

**Jutsu Translations:**

**Bunshin no Jutsu** (Replication Technique)


	2. Test

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Introduction Arc]**

* * *

**2\. Test**

Darkness. It surrounded the room of twelve year old Hiroshi. Covering him like a blanket. It was 4:30 in the morning and something in the bed nearby began stirring. The blanket was thrown off and a boy slowly sat up. Sleep was still in his eyes. The boy yawned and slowly dragged himself out of bed.

"Why did Naruto-sensei want us at the training ground at five," groaned the boy, "It's so early."

The boy grabbed his ninja attire and a towel and walked into the bathroom. The quiet room was flooded with the noise of water running. Fifteen minutes the water cut off. A few more minutes passed and the boy came out, fully dressed. He wore a black tee with a red spiral in the bank and the Konoha symbol in front and black Shinobi pants. He wrapped a bandage around his right thigh and put on his Kunai holster. He then grapped a pouch filled with Shuriken and put it on behind him. He was ready although he was still awfully sleepy. We walked downstairs through the dark, empty house and reached the front door. The boy unlocked it and opened the door and walked outside.

"God, it's going to be a long day," the boy sighed as he closed the door and locked it. He walked down the sidewalk into the empty streets. He passed street lights and closed businesses. The boy then actually found the walk peaceful, he had never walked the streets this early in the morning before now. There wasn't noise and it helped him stay in his thoughts even though his face showed him looking ready to fall asleep. The boy walked about ten more blocks where he reached the training grounds. He found two others sitting in the grass waiting. The other boy was first to notice the boy that was walking.

"Yo, Hiroshi," the boy greeted.

"Yo Shiro," Hiroshi greeted back.

"Morning Hiroshi-kun," Himawari said looking up to see Hiroshi had arrived.

Hiroshi looked over and smiled, "Good morning Himawari-chan."

* * *

The three Genin sat in the grass as the sun came up higher in the eastern sky and waited and waited and waited some more. Hiroshi groaned as he tried to stay awake. They were told to be at the training grounds by five and here it was seven thirty in the fucking morning and their sensei still hadn't showed up yet.

"Where the hell is he!?" yelled Hiroshi, he was irritated and getting more and more impatient by the minute.

"He asked us to be here at five and he's yet to show up, I wonder if something happened to him," addied Shiro. Himawari nodded in agreement. Suddenly here stomach began growling, it could be heard she blushed out of embarrassment.

Hiroshi laughed but then his growled just as loud.

"Looks like I'm not the only one," said Himawari.

"I didn't believe him when Naruto-sensei said we'd puke, so I went ahead and ate," said Shiro. "It's not like he's going to know."

Himawari and Hiroshi nodded their heads in disappointment, not at Shiro, but at themselves, they should of eaten too. How was Naruto-sensei going to know if they ate or not.

Another hour passed and Naruto still hadn't shown up yet. The three young Genin were getting angry to the point where they just wanted to leave thinking Naruto-sensei was never going to show up. Finally, Naruto showed his face.

"You're late!" yelled Hiroshi and Himawari in unison.

Naruto laughed nervously while he rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry guys, I over slept."

That wasn't really the truth

**Flashback:**

_Naruto and Sakura laid in his bed. It was four in the morning and Naruto got up with every attention to be at the training grounds by five. Sakura woke up._

_"What are you doing up so early?" she asked._

_"I have to meet up with my team in an hour," Naruto replied._

_"What?! Why so early?" she asked._

_"To see if they can handle a mission without hardly any sleep," he replied. Naruto got up but felt her hand on his wrist and she pulled him into the bed and began kissing him passionately. Naruto didn't fight it, he couldn't fight it, because he was kissing back just as passionately. After that, the rest was history as time got away from him._

**End of Flashback:**

"Liar," Shiro said shaking Naruto out of his thought. Naruto then shot a death glare to Shiro but began to speak.

"Alright, I guess it's time to start as Team Eleven," Naruto said.

"So what do we have planned Naruto-sensei?" asked Hiroshi.

"Well, today we're going to have a survival test," replied Naruto.

"Another test?" asked Hiroshi, "Didn't we just take our final exam to become Genin at the academy?"

Naruto began laughing, "That test was just to select candidates that could possibly become Genin."

"What!?" yelled Himawari, not believing him. "You mean we're not officially Genin yet?"

"Exactly," Naruto replied sturnly. "With this test, there's a sixty-six percent chance you're going to fail."

Hiroshi and Himawari were getting nervous but it didn't seem to phase Shiro.

"So what is this test anyway?" asked Shiro.

"It's simple," Naruto said reaching into his back shuriken pouch and pulled out two bells. "Take these bells from me."

"Is that all?" asked Hiroshi, all the nervousness he was feeling vanished with how easy the test was sounding now.

"Yes," Naruto replied. "The two that get a bell will get to have lunch while the one who doesn't get a bell doesn't get to eat lunch and will be tied this post and watch while me and the ones who get the bells eat their lunch. Also, the one who doesn't get the bell gets sent back to the academy."

The three Genin went silent, the loser gets sent back to the academy. Naruto looked at their puzzled faces and couldn't help but laugh at the looks on their faces.

'_Kids are fun,_' Naruto thought. "Alright, when I say go, the test will begin. Oh, I forgot to mention, you have three hours to get one of these bells."

"Shit," Shiro muttered.

"Go!" yelled Naruto and the three Genin disappeared out of sight.

'_Well, they got hiding down pretty good,_'

* * *

Thirty minutes had passed since Naruto began the test and he waited paitently since none of his students had made a move on him.

'_Hmm, I wonder if they got the point of this test already, they sure are taking a long time to attack me,_' Naruto thought looking around, waiting for any incoming attack. Naruto looked to the side where he heard bushes rustle nearby. Hiroshi ame running at him with a Kunai. When Hiroshi got close, Naruto quickly grabbed the Hiroshi's hand holding the kunai and stopped his attack.

"Damn it," said Hiroshi. The kid then decided to throw a punch at Naruto's head but he just easily blocked it.

"Shinobi Battle Skill #1: Taijutsu, the physical art," Naruto began, "nice try Hiroshi."

Hiroshi then got angry when he noticed that Naruto was expressing a look of boredom on his face. Hiroshi smirked trying to catch Naruto off guard and kneed Naruto in the stomach. Naruto groaned but disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Shit, it was a **Kage Bunshin**," Hiroshi looked around effortlessly trying to real Naruto. "Where the hell is he?"

"Behind you," whispered Naruto who was had made a hand seal, well it at least looked like one. "Konoha Secret Technique, Thousand Years of Pain!" yelled Naruto and proceeded to poke Hiroshi in the behind. Hiroshi's face cringed as if he ate something sour and then flew through the air and landed on the ground several feet away. Shiro and Himawari were watching in the bushes nearby.

"One thing to remember," Naruto said, "Don't let your enemies get behind you."

"Now just what the heck did Naruto-sensei just do?" asked Himawari, confused at what happened.

"I don't know," Shiro responded in shock as well.

Hiroshi recovered and pushed himself up off the ground, he was angry, very angry.

"What the fuck was that you pervert!?" yelled Hiroshi. Naruto just smiled.

"I'm not a pervert, it's a real technique," Naruto explained, "My sensei did the same crap to me during my Genin test, I didn't believe him at first when he told me so I looked it up and sure enough it's real, look it up yourself when you have a chance."

Hiroshi had enough of Naruto's attitude today. He was definately just toying with him because he was just Genin, but Naruto wasn't going to toy with him anymore after this. Naruto caught his movements with his peripheral vision.

'_Hand seals? What's he planning?_' Naruto thought. "Shinobi Battle Skill #2: Ninjutsu, the Ninja art, techniques that require chakra and hand seals to perform."

"**Doton: Doryudan!**" yelled Hiroshi.

"What the fuck!? No way you can do that!" Naruto yelled. He was shocked when a huge dragon made of soil and rock came out of the earth. The earth dragon opened its mouth and began firing out massive balls of mud. Naruto stood there in shock as the balls of mud began hitting Naruto with massive force, or at least that's what Hiroshi was thining until Naruto turned into a log. The **Kawarimi no Jutsu.**

"Damn it, he never lets his guard down," said Hiroshi. Naruto appeared on Hiroshi's left side and punched him. It wasn't very hard, Naruto held back, but it was enough to knock him into the bushes close by where Himawari and Shiro were hiding and watching. Hiroshi got up, rubbing his cheek from where Naruto had punched him, but he stayed hidden in the bushes with his friends and teammates.

"Well guys, I tested his strength like you wanted me to. He definately is of Jounin strength so it looks like we're going to have to work as a team to get those bells. Naruto-sensei is definately more alert than we originally thought," Hiroshi said.

"Well what do you plan we do?" asked Shiro.

"I don't know yet, but we do need some kind of distraction so he'll be caught off guard enough for us to get the bells," explained Hiroshi.

"Hmm, what should we do?" Himawari asked out loud, pondering. Shiro and Hiroshi looked at each other with a grin and then looked at Himawari. She suddenly felt unnerved with their stares, they were being scary again.

"Himawari-chan, you're going to be the distraction while me and Shiro flank him from both sides to grab the bells," Hiroshi said, there was a small evil smirk on his face. Himawari was a bit frightened. She just saw Hiroshi, who she believed was the best ninja in their class, get creamed by their sensei without breaking a sweat. She didn't know what she could do to remotely distract Naruto for a moment.

As Naruto awaited for another ambush, he couldn't help be amused over what Hiroshi just pulled off, '_Who would of thought a shrimp like him could do such a powerful jutsu like that,_'

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts when a young girl appeared before him, it was Himawari and then he smirked.

"I see, so it's your turn, eh?" he asked, a little enthusiastic about it. Himawari was nervous as all hell and nodded slowly. '_I think she's a bit scared.'_

'**I think so too,**' said an deep, almost demonic voice.

Naruto sighed, '_Not know Kurama, I'm busy._'

'**Fine**,' Kurama replied.

Naruto had been pre-occupied with Kurama's voice and caught Himawari performing last of her hand seals. Naruto's eyes widened.

"**Suriou no Jutsu!**" she yelled, as water began form around him.

"Shit!" yelled Naruto, '_Where the hell did these kids learn these advanced jutsu from!?_'

He mentally scolded himself for being careless in their abilities. If this had been a real ninja battle, he would of surely lost.

"Way to go Himawari!" yelled Hiroshi. Himawari immediately let the jutsu go but before Naruto could react, Hiroshi tackled Naruto to the ground and shiro managed to come in quickly from the other side and grabbed the bells of Naruto's belt. The three Genin then stood over Naruto, who was still on the ground, smiling triumphantly. Naruto got up from the ground and smirked.

"We did it Naruto-sensei, we got the bells," said Hiroshi, he was gloating.

"You sure did but I have one question before I decide whether you pass or fail," Naruto said. "What do you think the point of this exercise was?"

The three young ninja looked at each other for a second and looked back at their sensei.

"Teamwork," they said in unison.

Naruto smiled, "Well that was a very good answer so I have no choice but to tell that the three of you passed my exam. Team Eleven will go on their first mission tomorrow!"

Naruto held a thumbs up to his new team, his trademark fox grin visible on his face.

"You three are dismissed, meet me here approimately eight tomorrow morning. From there we'll go to the Hokage's office and get our first mission," Naruto said.

"Hai, Naruto-sensei," Hiroshi. Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke and left Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro at the training grounds by themselves. They walked down the street in silence but they were happy, they passed their real final exam and were now officially Genin, full fledge Shinobi from Konohagakure. Shiro reached his block first and said his goodbyes to Himawari and Hiroshi in his unusual quiet way and headed off. Himawari was next, she said her goodbyes and headed home. Hiroshi, once again, found himself alone. He reached his house, still empty.

Hiroshi sighed, "When are they coming home?"

* * *

Naruto was walking down the street whistling, presumably heading back to his apartment for some rest. He was happy that his Genin team passed his test. He admitted to himself he would of been very disappointed if they had failed. Soon pink hair caught his eye, he turned to find his beloved Sakura walking on the other side of the street. He was actually surprised to see her, he was pretty sure he wouldn't get to see her until later that night.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto over the noisey crowd, waving his hands as if he was having a seizure trying to get her to notice him. Sakura turned to see Naruto and his antics and smiled and motioned him to come across the street. Naruto wasted no time, Sakura could of sworn she blinked and he was there. Sure in the hell would put the speed of light to shame.

"Hey Sakura-chan, I'm actually surprised to see you, thought I was going to have to wait until tonight," Naruto said with a smile.

"Well I was on my way to get some lunch, I just got done testing my students," she replied. "Care to join me, Naruto-kun? That is if you're not busy."

"Nope, I just finished testing my students as well, I was headed back home for some rest, but lunch with my Sakura-chan is better than rest," Naruto said with a genuine smile. Oh how much he loved this woman. Sakura smiled back and grabbed his hand as they made their way down the street.

The entered Konoha's barbeque resturant and sat down at a table while waiting for their meat they will cook at their table. They received their meals and began cooking them on the open grill built in their table.

"So, did your team pass?" asked Naruto as he began eating.

"They sure did, they did better than we did in ours back in the day," Sakura said. She decided to play with Naruto. "But I'm sure yours completely failed because they weren't any good."

Naruto was taken back by her joke, "Well for your information, my students passed too."

Sakura laughed, god he was so cute when he got mad. They finished their meal in silence. Naruto payed the bill and they walked out of the resturant, hand in hand of course. Sakura grabbed Naruto's head and pulled him in for a kiss. How she loved to do that to him, it always caught him off guard. Naruto melted into the kiss and kissed her back.

"Well I'll see you tonight Naruto-kun, I'm going to help Tsunade-shishou at the hospital," Sakura said.

"Ok, I'll be home," Naruto replied. "I love you Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled, she never got tired of hearing that from him, "I love you too Naruto-kun.

The two shared one last kiss and parted ways for the time being.

* * *

Night had fallen over Konohagakure. Naruto was walking down the street to his favorite ramen bar, Ichiraku. Earlier Sakura came home from the hospital. The two had their alone time, but Sakura decided she was going to her parents house for the night to visit since it had been a little over a week since she visited them. Naruto was okay with it, but it was a little lonely in his apartment without her. He had gotten accustomed to her being there. Although, knowning her since twelve and her huge crush on their teammate back in the day, the two finally grew close and just a couple of years ago they finally started dating. Now, Sakura hardly stays away so this was sort of new to him. He arrived at Ichiraku's and pull the curtians to the side and entered. He greeted the old man that owned the place and ordered his favorite dish. Naruto received his order and began eating when Hiroshi walked into the joint as well. Naruto was surprised to see him here the second night in a row. Hiroshi knew Naruto was there this time, but didn't say anything and ordered his meal.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto.

"Nothing, my parents still haven't returned from their mission," Hiroshi said. Sadness and loneliness were glazed over his eyes. His voice, cracking as if he was going to cry. "They should of been back two days ago and my brother, he's not supposed to return for another six weeks."

"How long was this mission supposed to last?" asked Naruto.

"It was only supposed to be a week," replied Hiroshi. He just stared at the counter while answering Naruto.

"Hmm," Naruto replied. He was becoming concerned for his student.

"Earlier today I asked Hokage-sama if she know the status of my parents mission, but she wouldn't answer me. She told me she was busy and couldn't get to it at the moment," continued Hiroshi. "I'm really worried, Naruto-sensei.

Naruto patted Hiroshi on the head and smiled, "I'm sure they're fine, maybe they got caught up in whatever they were doing and had to stay a bit longer."

Hiroshi just sat in silence. He wasn't so sure.

"I got one more question to ask you," Naruto spoke. "Who taught you that jutsu that you used on me today?"

Hiroshi perked up at talking about jutsu, "My father taught it to me. My chakra is limited right now, so I can only do one of those a day, at least for now."

"Very impressive kid," replied Naruto. Hiroshi smiled at the compliment and the two continued eating in silence. Naruto, however, couldn't help but think about Hiroshi's parents.

'_I'm going to have to get Tsunade-baachan to tell me about Hiroshi's parents, sounded like she knew something._' Naruto thought as he finished his bowl of ramen.

* * *

**Next Up: Chapter 3: An Unwanted Answer**

**Jutsu translations:**

**Kage Bunshin** (Shadow Replication)  
**Kamarimi no Jutsu** (Body Replacement Technique)  
**Doton: Doryudan **(Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet)  
**Suirou no Jutsu **(Water Release: Water Prison Technique)


	3. An Unwanted Answer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Introduction arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 3: An Unwanted Answer**

The sun hung low in the eastern horizon in that beautiful morning sky. It was seven thirty, inside the house it was quiet. A creature stirred in the bed nearby. Arose was a boy with spikey light-brown hair yawning madly and then groaned as he sat up on his bed. He sat there for a few minutes with his eyes half opened. The boy finally forced himself out of bed and went straight into the shower. Fifteen minutes later he was out and getting dressed. Putting on his white Konoha tee and his black Shinobi pants. Be bandaged both his legs from his ankle to just above his shin and then put on his Shinobi sandals. He wrapped a bandage around his right thigh and put on his Kunai holster. He attacthed his Shuriken pouch to his belt on his back on the right side. He then tied his Konoha forehead protector to his forehead. It was now seven fifty and he was done. He was running late.

The boy sighed, "I guess I'll just run across the rooftops today."

He then opened the window and climed out. He proceeded to close it and then began hopping across rooftop after rooftop at ninja speed. The boy arrived at the training grounds, where he saw one other waiting it was a girl with purple hair. She still wore her black jacked, half zipped showing a purple shirt underneath, the jacket, still had the Konoha red spiral symbol on the back. It was the same training grounds as from yesterday.

"Oh, you made it Hiroshi-kun," Himawari said smiling, "I was getting worried you were sick or something."

"No, I'm okay Himawari-chan," Hiroshi smiled back. He was alone with the girl. A blush started forming on his face and turned away. It was actually the first time he was alone with her.

'_What's this feeling?_' Hiroshi thought, '_Feels like my heart is about to jump out of my chest._'

Suddenly Hiroshi was brought out of his thoughts when a boy with raven-hair, falling into his eyes as usual. He wore his white robe, trademark for the Suzuki clan, and black Shinobi pants with his standard Shinobi sandals.

"Yo Hiroshi, hello Himawari-chan," greeted Shiro.

"Good morning Shiro-kun," said Himawari. There was a couple of minutes of silence between the teammaes, but the akwardness faded when Naruto showed up, on time this time.

"Well it looks like the team is all here," Naruto said, smiling.

"You're actually on time today, Naruto-sensei," Shiro said, surprised. Naruto just laughed

"Alright team, we're heading to the Hokage Tower to grab our first mission as Team Eleven," Naruto said, pointing to a rounded tower to the north of the village.

* * *

Team Eleven reached the Hokage Tower and went inside. They climbed the forty-million stairs (or at least that's what Himawari thought they had climbed) and reached the floor where the Hokage gives out the missions to the ninja of the village for the day. They Genin sat in the waiting room as Naruto walked to the receptionist to sign in. Afterwards Naruto sat down with his team to wait there turn to get inside. They did not have to wait very long.

"Team Eleven, Hokage-sama is ready to see you now," said the receptionist.

Naruto and his Genin got up and walked inside the room. It was a large room, with a long table towards the back by a series of windows. On each side of Tsunade was a Chunin, one being Iruka-sensei, who smiled when he saw his old academy student walk in with Genin of his own.

"Ah, Naruto," Tsunade greeted.

Nartuo smiled, "Hello Tsunade-baachan, Team Eleven reporting for its first mission."

A vein on Tsunade's head popped out at the '_-baachan_'. But instead of beating Naruto senseless, she decided to give his team the lamest mission she could get.

"Alright, you're teams mission is get the woman's cat back," Tsunade said, pointing to an overweight woman with long brown hair, black eyes. She was wearing a pink dress and around her neck was a large red pearl necklace. Her wrists were covered in red pearl bracelets as well. Naruto sighed, he did this exact mission when he was a Genin.

Naruto looked at the woman, "You sure do lose a lot of cats, don't you lady?"

He didn't stick around along enough to hear the woman answer him back; he just walked out of the mission room with his studens right behind him.

"Hey Naruto-sensei, why were being mean to that lady?" asked Himawari.

"Hmm? Oh, that lady is always losing her cats. When I was a Genin, I had to get a damned cat for her on my very first mission as well," Naruto answered.

"We probably got this lame mission because you keep calling Tsunade-sama, baachan," hissed Hiroshi. Naruto, however, ignored his student's outburst. After leaving the Hokage's Tower, the four hit the streets.

"So where do we start to look for this cat?" asked Shiro.

"It's probably hiding in the woods behind the old lady's mansion," Naruto answered. Team Eleven walked down the street when they came across a large red mansion. Hiroshi was kind of shocked.

"Man this lady likes a lot of red and pink, doesn't she?" commented Hiroshi.

No one answered back and made their way behind the mansion where a small forest lied, surrounding the property. Naruto stopped and pulled out radio headsets from his backpack. He put on on and he gave Hiroshi, Shiro and Himawari one as well.

"What's this for?" asked Himawari.

"We're going to split up to find this cat, so we're going to use these for communicating between us so we can all meet up when the target is spotted," Naruto answered. "Now go!"

At the command of Naruto, the Genin all ran in different directions. Naruto just stayed there, he would let the Genin find the cat, he would just wait.

* * *

An hour passed since Team Eleven started their mission, searching for a missiong cat. Finally it dawned on Hiroshi, he had no idea what color the cat they were looking for was. He could of found a cat and it could of been the wrong one. Hiroshi talked into his headset.

"Naruto-sensei, I forgot to ask something, what the hell does this cat look like anyway?" Hiroshi said, he paused awaiting an answer from his sensei.

"It's calico with a red ribbon around it's neck, it's a short-haired calico by the way," Naruto answered.

"Hai, arigato Naruto-sensei," Hiroshi said and went back to searching for the cat. While still searching, nearby Himawari heard rustling in the bushes near her and she quietly waited. Suddenly a calico cat with a red ribbon around its neck darted out of the bushes.

"Naruto-sensei, I found the cat, I'm in pursuit now," Himawari radioed to Naruto.

"Good Himawari," Naruto said into the headset and ran off to find Himawari. Shiro and Hiroshi heard the report as well and headed out in search for Himawari.

Himawari continued to chase down the cat. She saw a log nearby and made a hand seal to transform the log into a ball of yarn in hopes of distracting the feline, to her amazement, it worked. The cat stopped and started playing with the ball of yarn. It was so occupied with playing, it didn't notice what it was about to succumb to. Himawari grabbed the cat, only to get scratched up, but she kept her hold on it.

"Target has been captured," reported Himawari.

"Good work Himawari," said a familiar voice from behind her, she turned around to find Naruto standing there with a big grin on his face, he gave her thumbs up. Shortly after, Hiroshi and Shiro caught up and joined them.

"Alright, back to the Hokage tower," Naruto said in his cheerful attitude.

* * *

Naruto and his students entered the mission room yet again. Himawari was holding onto the calico cat who was struggling to break free from her hold. The lady in pink and red ran over to Himawari and took back her cat, smothering it to near death. The lady paid the mission fee to the Chunin on the left side of Tsunade (Right if you were facing the table) and walked out.

Naruto just glared at the woman, "Someone really needs to just take that cat away from her. The poor thing isn't running away just because it feels lie it."

Tsunade chuckled a bit with Naruto's words. She looked down at her mission papers and scanned through them. Tsunade was surprised when she realized, there were no more D ranked missions.

"Well, I know it's early but that was the last D Rank mission I had left," Tsunade said.

"Are you serious?" asked Hiroshi. He was excited to perform his first missions as a Genin. He wanted to do a few more before the day was done.

"Well, that bites," Shiro said. He too was a bit disappointed about not conducting a few more missions.

Naruto chuckled, "Now, now, at least we got in one mission today."

"Come back tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have a few more D Rank missions for your team to complete," Tsunade said smiling at Naruto's team.

Hiroshi sighed in defeat, "Alright then."

Naruto noticed the sadness creep back into his eyes. He knew Hiroshi wanted to do more missions so he could keep his mind off missing his parents. He knew Hiroshi did not want to go home at all. Naruto and his Genin team walked out of the office into the hallway.

"Alright guys, you're dismissed for the day," Naruto said. Hiroshi walked down the stairs without a single word. Shiro waved his hand goodbye and Himawari stood facing Naruto.

"Bye, Naruto-sensei," she said and then turned around and walked down the stairs. Naruto then remembered something and ran down the stairs after them.

"Hiroshi, Shiro, Himawari!" Naruto called out as he caught up to them. The three looked at him. "Forgot to tell you, meet back up at the training grounds again at eight a.m."

Shiro nodded while Himawari smiled and nodded. Hiroshi heard but he didn't aknowledge what Naruto had just said and continued walking down the street. Naruto watched Hiroshi and sighed. Naruto turned and went back to the Hokage's Tower. Naruto returned to the mission room. Tsunade was surprised.

"Tsunade-sama," he said with respect, "I need to speak to you in private."

Tsunade was taken back, the only time Naruto ever talked to her with honorifics was when something was bothering him or it was really important. She motioned for Naruto to wait in her office.

* * *

Naruto waited in Tsunade's office so he could talk to her about what was on his mind. Shortly after, Tsunade walked in and sat in her chair and looked up at Naruto waiting for him to spill his guts. Naruto's face was serious and it caught Tsunade by surprise.

"So, what's the problem?" asked Tsunade.

"It's about Hiroshi's parents," Naruto revealed. Tsunade froze and Naruto noticed but didn't point it out at the moment.

"Last night Hiroshi told me his parents had been out on a mission," Naruto began, "and it was supposed to last only a week, but they're three days late. He told me he asked about them yesterday but all you did was tell him that you were busy."

Tsunade sighed. She didn't lie to the kid, she was busy. She was busy receiving a report from the Land of Waves about the two she sent on a mission there. However, she stayed quiet unable to form words. Naruto was getting impatient and spoke up again.

"So tell me, where are his parents?" he asked again.

Tsunade stayed silent, still unable to form words.

"Damn it Tsunade, I'm not bullshitting around here, where are Hiroshi's parents?" Naruto demanded. He was never stern like this with Tsunade and if it was any other day, he was sure she'd punch him through the wall.

"Hiroshi's parents, they're..." Tsunade pasued. "They're dead"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "What? Why haven't you told Hiroshi!? The poor boy is lonely as hell and he is torturing himself unable to understand why his parents aren't home yet!"

"Because I didn't know it was them until this morning," Tsunade replied. "When I told Hiroshi I was busy, its because I received a report the ANBU squad I sent to the Land of Waves because they were late from returning. Hiroshi's parents were on a mission in the Land of Waves; it was a simple trade mission. About four days after I sent them to the Land of Waves to conduct this mission, I received a reports that a Missing-nin and his gang ambushed the Land of Waves trade market, killing two ninja. What wasn't told is where those ninja were from so I sent an ANBU to investigate, they came back this morning and it was revealed they were from here, Hiroshi's parents."

"Do you know who did it?" asked Naruto.

"The ANBU could only tell me it was a Missing-nin named Totosai," Tsunade answered. "I did some investigating of my own through Jiraiya's old spy network and found out that Totosai's real name is Kurosakie Kami, which is Hiroshi's uncle."

Naruto stayed quiet, letting all what Tsunade just told him sink in real deep. Finally he broke his silence.

"Arigato, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said walking out of Tsunade's office. He walked down the stairs of the Hokage Tower lost in his own thoughts.

'_I have to tell Hiroshi this information, for his sake._' Naruto thought and decided he'd go to Hiroshi's house and do it now.

* * *

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha. Before he had left for Hiroshi's house, he had returned to Tsunade's office to get the address to the Kurosaki clan's property. He stood at a sidewalk and look at the numbers on the fence post and the numbers he wrote down, they matched, it was Hiroshi's house. He sighed and gathered enough courage, he opened the gate and walked down the sidewalk to the front of the house. He knocked on the front door a few times. Naruto paused as he waited to see if Hiroshi would answer, and he did.

"Naruto-sensei, why are you here?" Hiroshi asked, shocked to see his sensei.

"Can I come in?" Naruto answered with a question, "I've got something important to tell you."

"Uh, sure," Hiroshi said, letting Naruto into his house. He was a little confused as to why Naruto was here at his house.

Naruto made his way to the couch in the living room and sat down. Hiroshi sat in a arm chair nearby. The two stayed quiet while Naruto tried to think of a way to bring the news he received to Hiroshi. Hiroshi decided it was time to break the awkward silence.

"So Naruto-sensei, what is it that you want to tell me?" asked Hiroshi.

Naruto sighed and decided it was now or never, "After I dismissed you guys, I went and had a talk with Tsunade-baachan."

Hiroshi was listening, but had to ask. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Hold on kid, I'm getting to that," Naruto said. "I asked her about your parents."

"What she say?" Hiroshi asked repeatedly about five times, wanting to here any news at all.

"How can I say this," Naruto began. "She told me about four days into their mission in the Land of Waves, a Missing-nin and his gang attacked the trade market, killing two ninja that were there on a mission."

Hiroshi then started to get scared. Where was Naruto-sensei going with this? Were the two ninja killed his parents? Hiroshi wanted Naruto to go on but was so afraid of what might come next, something he had been fearing all along.

"Tsunade-baachan then sent ANBU to investigate to see who those ninja were," Naruto continued. "Those two ninja ended up being from here."

Naruto noticed fear and sadness written all over Hiroshi's face. He didn't want to tell him this news but he had to, for the boy's sake so he didn't go insane from just wondering.

"Those two ninja..." Naruto paused, he sighed then forced it out of him. "Those two ninja were your parents."

Hiroshi's heart just broke in half as tears began falling down his face. His fear was true; his parents were dead, killed by the hands of a traitor. Hiroshi just broke down crying. Naruto tried his best to comfort the boy. Hours passed after the revelation of this horrible news, Hiroshi looked up at Naruto, his eyes bloodshot, his face stained with tears. His expression had change from sadness to anger.

"Who did it?" asked Hiroshi. Anger was evident in his voice. Naruto paused a bit. Should he tell him? What if he turns out bent on revenge and get swallowed up by darkness that would form in his heart just like a certain ex-teammate of his back in his Genin days? Naruto didn't know what to do at this point.

"Who did it, damn it!?" Hiroshi demanded. Naruto looked at him one last time and decided he'll tell him and hoped to God it didn't back fire on him.

"Kurosaki Kami," Naruto revealed. Hiroshi's eyes widened in shock. Then the became consumed with fear and then anger. He couldn't believe it, his own uncle killed his parents? But why? Did he not realize who they were at that moment? So many questions flooded his mind, he didn't know what to think.

"A-are you sure?" Hiroshi stuttered.

"Positive," Naruto answered. "But he's going under an alias, calling himself Totosai. I guess he did that to keep the Hunter-nin off his trail."

Hiroshi then began crying again. He couldn't comprehend any of what Naruto had told him. The sight of this broke Naruto's heart. Being alone always was one thing, that's what Naruto had growing up, always being alone and seeing someone else in pain because of loneliness reminded him so much of his pain back then. Naruto knew how it felt to lose someone close, but not by death but by betrayal, like when _he_ betrayed Konoha.

"I have to tell you something else though," Naruto began. "I had a friend, he was my teammate and was like a brother to me, go through something similiar when he was a kid. His brother killed his entire clan but spared him. He grew up bent on avenging his clan's deaths which eventually lead to darkness growing in his heart which led him to betray Konoha to be trained under one of our most nortoious Missing-nin at the time, Orochimaru. I don't want you to end up on a dark path like that, okay?"

Hiroshi looked at Naruto, "Don't worry Naruto-sensei; I'll get my revenge when the time is right."

Naruto smiled, '_I hope you're right._'

Naruto got up from the couch and headed for the front door, "Well I guess I better get going now."

"Can-can I spend the night at your place Naruto-sensei? I don't want to be alone tonight," Hiroshi asked. Naruto was taken back by the request but he then thought about it.

"Well, my apartment is small and all I have is one bd and a couch.." Naruto was caught off.

"I'll sleep on the couch, I don't care," Hiroshi said. He was desperate not to be alone tonight. After hearing about his parents' death, it was the last thing he wanted.

Naruto sighed, he knew how it felt to be so alone and he just couldn't refuse the boy, "Alright, but you'll need to bring your own pillow and blanket. What extras I have are used by Sakura-chan who will also be there tonight."

Hiroshi didn't waste any time and ran upstairs to his room and grabbed a back pack, he placed a few changes of clothes. He then grabbed his pillow and blanket and rushed back downstairs with Naruto still waiting.

"Okay, I'm ready," Hiroshi said.

Naruto smiled, '_How am I going to explain this to Sakura-chan._'

* * *

Naruto and Hiroshi reached his apartment unit. Naruto took out his key and unlocked the door. As soon as he walked into the door, he was greeted by Sakura who wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him like she hadn't seen him in months.

"Oi, Naruto-kun, I'm so glad you're home," she said with a smile. Then she heard a boy's voice.

"Dang, it is small," Hiroshi said. Naruto looked down and gave him an ugly look. Hiroshi didn't see it.

"If you're going to complain about it then I'll send your ass back home you little twerp," Naruto snapped in mock anger, but he was only joking. Hiroshi, however, thought he was serious and started stuttering. All Naruto could do was laugh. Sakura laughed with him as well, but then she grabbed Naruto by the ear and forced him into the bathroom.

"Ow Sakura-chan! What was that for?" the blonde complained.

"Care to explain why you brought your student home?" Sakura asked sternly.

Naruto's face turned somber, "His parents were killed on a mission a couple of days ago, I couldn't let him be in that empty house along tonight.

Sakura's face soften, "Oh no, poor baby, ok, I'll let you not telling me in advance slid. Baka!"

Naruto giggled, "I love you too, Sakura-chan." He then kissed her passionately.

The two walked out of the bathroom and noticed Hiroshi already made himself at home on Naruto's couch. Sakura was cooking dinner for just her and Naruto but she went ahead and added a little more so they could serve Hiroshi as well. Then the silence was broken.

"Thanks Naruto-sense, for taking me in for the night," Hiroshi said.

"Don't worry about Hiroshi," Naruto said while sitting at the table watching his beautiful girlfriend cook. "Besides, I know very well how it is to be alone."

Hiroshi looked up, he was now curious, "What do you mean?"

Naruto turned to him to answer, "While growing up, I didn't have any parents. The village shunned me, called me names, threw rocks at me and even kept their children away from like if I had the plague. I was alone for a good twelve years before I finally found someone cared about me. So I know all too well what it's like to be alone."

Sakura was listening as she cooked, everything Naruto said, it always broke her heart when she hears him talk about his childhood. She cursed herself for acting like a stupid bitch to him back when they were Genin, but she was trying to make it up to him as best as she could now.

Silence fell over the three again as dinner was served. The three ate in peace. Hiroshi felt at ease for the first time in a long time. After the finished eating, Sakura began cleaning up the kitchen. Night was falling upon Konoha yet again and Hiroshi noticed the balcony.

"Oi, Naruto-sensei, you have a balcony?" he asked.

"Yeah, you wanna sit outside and watch the town?" Naruto asked.

"Sure," Hiroshi stated and the two walked outside onto Naruto's balcony to stare at the night sky.

* * *

**Next Up: Chapter 4: Training**


	4. Training

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Takigakure Arc]**

**Arc Summary:**  
**Naruto and his team are sent to Takigakure to gather information about possible sights of Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto is skeptical of the mission but accepts. When Naruto and his team arrive, the village is in distress and he comes face to face with someone was hoping not to.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Training**

Naruto and Hiroshi were sitting on Naruto's balcony looking up at the shimmering stars that littered the sky. Hiroshi was looking up, lost in his thoughts, still trying to get a grasp at what Naruto had told him earlier in the day. No words were spoken for a while, the just enjoyed the silence and the beauty the sky had to offer them. Hiroshi was the one to break the silence.

"The girl inside," Hiroshi began.

"Yeah, what about her?" Naruto asked.

"Is she your girlfriend or something?" Hiroshi asked. Naruto smiled brightly as ever.

"Yes she is," Naruto replied.

"I thought so, your face lit up like a christmas tree when she greeted you at the door," Hiroshi said.

Naruto blushed, '_Damn, did he really pick that up, observant Gaki!_'

"It's funny though," Naruto spoke. "She never liked me at first. She was so hung up on our other teammate, who didn't care for her wellbeing at all. When he betrayed the village, it changed her I guess. I left the village to train with Ero-sennin, came back two and a half years later and we just gotten closer and closer. Then the Fourth Shinobi War so our feelings were put on the back burner. Once the war was over, we finally gave in and here we are now."

"Like you told me earlier about being alone," Hiroshi said, "At least you're not anymore."

Naruto smiled, "Yeah, you're right, I'm not."

Hiroshi then changed the subject, "I know earlier I said I wanted to get revenge when the time was right, I do want to defeat Kami but not for revenge, but to protect Konoha."

Naruto smiled, '_The will of fire has already got a hold of you,_'

"Well I'm glad to hear that," Naruto said. The sliding glass door to the balcony opened up, revealing a pink-haired Kunoichi.

"You guys should get inside, it's getting late," Sakura said. "You might catch a cold for being out there so long."

Naruto and Hiroshi nodded and went inside. Hiroshi layed down on the couch. He fell alseep within no time. Sakura had already crawled into bed. Naruto took off his Shinobi gear, putting on a black tee and orange shorts. He may have worn the normal Konoha Shinobi uniform, but at home, he still wore is orange and black. He crawled into bed with the love his life.

"Naruto-kun," she began. "That was really sweet of you to let Hiroshi stay after finding out his parents were killed."

"I couldn't let him be there alone, not after all that," he replied.

Sakura reached for Naruto and kissed him, slowly, lovingly. Naruto kissed back like it was the first time.

"I love you, Naruto-kun," she said dreamingly.

"I love you too, Sakura-chan," he replied smiling. Soon the two were fast asleep as well.

* * *

Morning arrived in Konoha for another day. The Hokage Tower was busy this morning. Lots of missions coming into the village. Why the hell is it always busy in the middle of the week? Tsunade was working through her never ending supply of paper work when a knock came to her door.

"Come in," Tsunade yelled. The door opened to reveal a Chunin male wear glasses. He wore a bandana forehead protector, which hid the color and length of his hair. He worke the standed dark blue long-sleeve shirt with the red swirl on both arms. A Chunin flak jacked. The standard dark blue Shinobi pants and dark blue Shinobi sandals. He handed a note to Tsunade.

"What's this?" the Hokage asked.

"A request for help from Takigakure, Hokage-sama," the Chuunin said.

Tsunade began reading the note. It revealed that a suspicous person was around the Takigakure area and maybe responsible for deaths of a coule of Takigakure-nin. It was also revealed the suspicous person may have Sharingan.

'_Sasuke...'_ Tsunade thought. '_No one else can take this emergancy request, I have no choice but have to give it to Naruto._'

"Shit..." Tsunade cursed.

* * *

Naruto woke up, the events of yesterday unfolding flooding through his mind. He looked down to see Sakura peacefully sleeping, nuzzled up on his chest. He smiled at the sight, something he could never get tired of. He looked over at the couch and heard snoring coming from it, Hiroshi was still asleep. Naruto needed to get up, but he didn't want to disturb his cherry blossom sleeping so soundly on top of him. To his luck she let go and turned over, allowing Naruto to get up and take a shower.

He came out of the bathroom, fully dressed in his Konoha uniform. Sakura was on the bed waiting. She smiled and got up and kissed him on the cheek and went into the bathroom herself. Naruto walked over to the couch, Hiroshi was still asleep. Not for long as his eyes opened up, seeing Naruto standing over him.

"Naruto-sensei?" he asked. "Is it time to get up?"

"Yeah it is, if you don't horry we're going to be late meeting up with Himawari and Shiro," Naruto replied.

Hiroshi quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom to get ready when Naruto stopped him.

"You'll have to wait, Sakura-chan is in there right now, should of gotten up earlier," Naruto said. Hiroshi just groaned. Naruto went into the kitchen and began making toast.

Sakura exited the bathroom, also wearing her standard Konoha uniform. Hiroshi went in. Sakura sat at the table while Naruto served her. She smiled and began eating. Shortly after Hiroshi came out of the bathroom, dressed in his ninja attire, his black Konoha tee and black Shinobi pants. His Kunai Holster and Shuriken pouch securely in place. Hiroshi sat at the table and saw what Naruto was making.

"My god, you actually eat other foods?" asked Hiroshi. Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Sakura too. Hiroshi didn't see what was so funny, he was truely surprised Naruto ate other things besides Ramen.

"So Hiroshi, how do you like being under Naruto?" asked Sakura, deciding to make small talk with the boy since she didn't really get to last night.

"He's the coolest sensei I ever had," Hiroshi said smiling. Sakura smiled.

"Oi, Sakura-san, do you live here?" Hiroshi asked. While making Hiroshi's toast, Naruto froze up to that question.

"Well, I guess you can say that, I'm practically always here," Sakura said smiling.

"How can you stay in a place so small thought?" asked Hiroshi.

"Well, it's only me and Naruto-kun here, so its fine with me," Sakura replied.

"Oi, Hiroshi, you ask too many questions," Naruto added, handing Hiroshi his breakfast. "Shut it and eat it."

"Don't be mean Naruto-kun, he's just curious," Sakura said, defending Hiroshi.

Naruto glared at Sakura, "Don't encourage him,"

The three ate breakfast quickly and exited out the door. Naruto looked it. He kissed Sakura-chan goodbye and went their seperate ways. Naruto and Hiroshi were headed to the training grounds to meet up with Himawari and Shiro. On the way, they mostly walked in silence, and as usual, Hiroshi broke that silence.

"So what are we doing today, Naruto-sensei?" he asked.

"A training exercise," replied Naruto.

"So you saying we're not doing any missions today?" asked Hiroshi, he was going to be disappointed if Naruto said yes.

"No, not today. I told Tsunade-baachan to lay off the missions for us, this training exercise is very important to your life as a ninja," Naruto responded. Hiroshi sighed.

Shortly after their talk, Naruto and Hiroshi arrived at the training grounds where Himawari and Shiro were already waiting. They were glad Naruto had finally showed up, he was fifteen minutes late.

"Good morning Himawari, Shiro," Naruto said with a smile.

"Good morning Narut-sensei," replied Himawari. Shiri nodded and noticed something, Hiroshi was walking with Naruto. Usually he was here with Himawari before him.

"So what's the plan today, Naruto-sensei?" asked Himawari.

"We're going to conduct an important training exercise," Naruto responded. "So if you're ready, we're going outside the village gate for this training exercise."

Before they could leave to begin their training a cloud of smoke appeared. Once it cleared, it revealed a muscular man in his late 30s. He had silver hair that stood straight up. His forehead protector tied aross his forehead. He had a massive scar on his left side of his face. He wore a Jounin flak jacket with a dark blue long-sleeve shirt with the red swirl on both sides of his arm. He also wore a dark blue mask that covered his face up to his nose.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, surprised to see his old sensei. "What are you doing here?"

"Tsunade-sama asked me to come get you, she has urgant business with you," the silver-haired man said.

"Tsunade-baachan?" asked Naruto, he was surprised. "I told her no missions for us today; I have to train my team chakra control."

"Don't tell that to me, tell that to Tsunade-sama," the Jounin said, he then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto sighed.

"Damn it."

* * *

Here he was, standing in front of Tsunade's. Mentally cursing her because he told her not to give his team any missions. Naruto knocked on the door a couple of times.

"Come in," Tsunade yelled on the other side of the door. Naruto opened the door, he walked in alone. He told his team to stay outside.

"What do you want Baachan?" Naruto asked, he was quite annoyed. Tsunade didn't pay any attention to him this time around.

"I'm sending you and your team to investigate a report of a suspicous person killing Shinobi from Takigakure," said Tsunade.

"What!?" Naruto yelled in protest. "I told you I didn't want my team to be given missions today so I could train them!"

"Yeah I know, but all the other teams are busy with their own missions, you're the only team left that's not busy," Tsunade answered back. Naruto knoew there was no way of getting out of this one.

"Damn it," groaned Naruto. "So what's this investigation mission?"

"There is a report of a man, who has Sharingan, snooping around Takigakure, even having killed a couple of their ninja. I want you to find out who it is and eliminate him so it doesn't cause a war between Konoha and Taki."

'_What the fuck? Sharingan? Could it be Sasuke? I thought I had gotten through to him _that_ day!'_ Naruto thought.

'_Naruto is probably already thinking Sasuke,_' Tsunade thought as she watched Naruto's facial expressions drastically change.

"Is it Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know," Tsunade answered, "This urgent request just says he may have Sharingan."

"Why can't they just look into it on their own?" asked Naruto.

"If it does involves an Uchiha, then that's on us. We need to find out who it is and I want you to eliminate him if you can. Like I said, I don't want this starting a war between Konoha and Taki," replied Tsunade.

"So when do we leave?" asked Naruto.

"Immediately," the Hokage answered.

* * *

Naruto walked out of Tsunade's office and ordered his team to go home and supply themselves with Kunai, Shuriken and other supplies they may need. He told them to meet him at the gate ASAP. His Genin nodded and ran off to their homes. Naruto sighed.

"Takigakure, that's at least a four day trip," Naruto spoke to no one, "I don't even have time to say goodbye to Sakura-chan."

Naruto decided to go home quickly to leave a note on the table that he would be on a mission for a few days.

Naruto unlocked his apartment and went inside. He grabbed a note pad and a pen.

_Sakura-chan,_

_I'm letting you know that I've been sent on an urgent mission to Takigakure with my team and I am leaving immediately. I wish I could of said goodbye face to face and kiss those lips of yours and tell you how much I love you but here I am writing this note for you because I'm leaving shortly. I love you very much and I'll see you in a few days._

_Love,_

_Uzumaki Naruto._

Naruto was happy with his note and left it on the table where she would easily see it. He walked out of his apartment, closed the door and locked it. He had plenty of his ninja tools and was ready to go. He jumped onto the rooftops to get to the main gate quickly.

He arrived at the gate, but he was first. He expected this, kids aren't always in a hurry like adults. But he waited. Thirty minutes passed and Hiroshi was first to arrive. Shortly after Shiro and then Himawari.

"So what are we doing?" asked Hiroshi.

"We're going on an urgent mission to Takigakure to investigate a suspicous person who has killed several Taki-nin, and it may be tied to us because there are reports of the person using Sharingan," replied Naruto.

"Sharingan?" question Himawari.

"It was a very strong Doujutsu, a Kekkei Genkai of Konoha's once great Uchiha clan," replied Naruto. "Hiroshi, remember when I told you had an ex-teammate that wanted revenge?"

Hiroshi nodded.

"That was the Uchiha clan, his brother slaughted the entire clan except him," Naruto said. "So if this man does have Sharingan, I don't want any of you getting into the fight if we cross paths with this man, understood?"

The three Genin nodded.

"Good, now lets head out," Naruto replied and the four ninja left Konoha.

* * *

Naruto and his Genin walked down the path leading out of the Konoha forest, heading northwest toward the border. Naruto decided they had done enough traveling for one day and decided he was going to train them today.

"Why'd we stop Naruto-sensei?" asked Shiro.

"We've traveled enough for today. I thought we'd get started on that training exercises that I wanted to do earlier today," replied Naruto.

"But we're on a mission, Naruto-sensei," Himawari added.

"The mission can wait; it's just investigation. Besides, if we end up in a fight, I'll be the one fighting," said Naruto.

"What is this exercise then?" asked Hiroshi. He had been awfully quiet since they had left Konoha. It was the first time he spoke since they had left hours ago.

"It will be a chakra control exercise," Naruto said. He then pointed to three trees behind the kids. "I want you to climb those trees."

The three Genin turned around and looked at the tall trees Naruto was pointing at. They turned back to their sensei and began laughing.

"Are you kidding me?" Hiroshi questioned, "That's easy."

Naruto just grinned at the naivity.

"I want you to climb those trees, without using your hands," Naruto said.

"What!?" the three Genin yelled in unison.

"It's simple; focus your chakra to the center point of your feet," Naruto explained. The three Genin groaned. It wasn't going to be as easy as they originally thought. Naruto grinned, oh how he loved destroying their cocky attitudes in just seconds.

Naruto then threw three kunai into the ground, one for each Genin. "And one more thing, use these Kunai to mark your progress. That way you can try to beat that."

The three Genin grabbed the kunai that Naruto threw for them and each picked a tree they were going to climb up. They stood in silence and focused their chakra to their feet and they charged at the trees and began climbing up. A few steps in, Hiroshi fell off. Himawari made it a little further but Shiro made it all the way to the first branch.

Naruto grinned and he decided to give them some words of wisdom, "Here's a hint: If you put too much chakra into your feet, you'll push too hard on the bark and it will crack and you will fall. If you don't use enough chakra, you'll just fall off without getting up the tree very far."

Hiroshi and Himawari cleared their minds of any and all thought and concentrated on their chakra flow. Shortly after Hiroshi and Himawari were back at it running up the tree, both going further than their previous mark. Shiro was trying to get further past that first branch he initially passed the first time, but from that point on Shiro started to struggle.

'_Hmm, it looks like Hiroshi and Himawari are getting better at their chakra control already, Shiro was doing fine but all of a sudden he's struggling,_' Naruto thought as he sad in a nearby tree, observing his students.

"Good job Hiroshi and Himawari, keep practicing and you'll surely master this exercise in no time," Naruto cheered.

An hour past as Naruto continued to watch his students climb their respective tree. Hiroshi and Himawari got pretty high in their tree, but now, they're were running low on chakra. Naruto thought it was time to intervene.

"Alright, Hiroshi and Himawari, you two an rest now. I don't need you guys to use up all your chakra now," Naruto said. Naruto then glanced over at Shiro, he finally made some progress from where he first started but he could tell Shiro was getting frustrated. However, Shiro didn't make a fuss, he calmly walked over to Hiroshi and Himawari.

"Hey, uh, you two seemed to be better at this, how is this done?" he asked.

Naruto grinned, '_Finally, I was wondering when he'd ask his teammates for help._'

* * *

After resting, Naruto stopped the training and said they'd pick it up another day. They began traveling again, heading toward Takigakure. As evening set in, Naruto decided it was time to stop and set up camp for the night. Naruto set up a campfire while the Genin went out looking for wood. After they had collected wood and began a fire, night had fallen on the forest as crickets were singing. The four ninja sat down around the campfire.

"Well today was a great accomplishment, you all nearly mastered that chakra control exercise," Naruto said happily, "Well, at least one of them anyway."

The three Genin groaned while Naruto laughed at their reaction, "Don't worry, we'll do that one another day."

The kids sighed in relief, they did not want to try and master another chakra control exercises. This one was exhausting, at least at their level.

"You three should get some sleep," Naruto spoke. "You all need the rest. Tomorrow we're going to pick up the pace and make it to Takigakure in record time."

The three Genin slipped into their sleeping bags and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Naruto then climbed up a nearby tree to keep watch over the young ninja.

* * *

**Next Up: Chapter 5: In Distress**


	5. In Distress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Takigakure Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 5: In Distress**

Naruto laid up against the trunk of the tree that he was perched on the night before in order to keep watch over his Genin as they slept on the ground below. The sun's early morning rays where filtering through the thick canopy. Those rays began tickling Naruto's face causing his already shut eyes squint harder, but soon they forced him awake. He cursed himself as he realized he had fallen asleep. He was supposed to be looking out for the young Genin, they could have easily been killed by enemy-nin while he slept peacefully, hidden in a tree above. He looked down and saw that they were fine. He promised himself he would never do that again. Naruto stood up on the branch and stretched for a good minute and then jumped out of the tree to the ground below. He walked to the sleeping Genin. He first shook awake Himawari and then Shiro.

"Wake up, we're leaving so we can get to Takigakure today," Naruto calmly said.

Himawari was the first to get up, in spite the fact she did not want to. She yawned as she stood up. Shiro had originally woken up when Naruto shook him, but he was staring up at the canopy above not phyiscally wanting to get up. Naruto then walked over to Hiroshi and shook him last. HIroshi, however, made a grunting noise and rolled over and stayed asleep. Naruto sighed at the young ninja's action. Naruto then shook Hiroshi a little harder.

"Get up, we're leaving," Naruto said, stern and annoyed. For some reason, Naruto woke up extra grouchy today. He also had this pain in his chest, as if he knew something bad was going to happy today and he couldn't quite understand why. It was only to investigate the deaths of a few Takigakure-nin and to make sure this supicious person wasn't of the Uchiha clan. But Naruto couldn't shake that feeling that something bad was going to happen today.

While Naruto was pondering his eerie feeling, Shiro finally stood up, fully awake. However, Hiroshi, he was still asleep. Naruto brushed his feeling away and started feeling ticked off. He wanted to leave so they'd could get to Takigakure today and yet, he had this lazy ass kid fast asleep, refusing to get up. Naruto had enough and then bent down to Hiroshi, hovering over his ear.

"Get up now!" yelled Naruto. It was right into Hiroshi's ear and it scared him straight out of his slumber. Hiroshi stood up quickly as the result as well.

"What the hell!?" the boy yelled in a panic. He turned to see Naruto who was laughing. "What the hell's so funny?"

"You," replied Naruto. Hiroshi groaned and rolled his eyes. "Alright, if we head out right now, we'll reach Takigakure by noon."

Naruto and his Genin team packed up their belongings in a flash and soon headed out.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky. Naruto and his young Genin continued to leap through the trees. Naruto felt he was getting close to the village because his surroundings were starting to look familiar. He remembered coming here once, escorting the village's young but cowardly leader Shibuki.

'_Man, that was a long time ago,_' Naruto thought as he chuckled to himself. Hiroshi heard it.

"What are you laughing at now, Naruto-sensei?" the boy asked. Still upset at what Naruto did to him earlier in the morning.

"I was just remembering back when I was a Genin and we came here on an escort mission, that's all," Naruto answered.

"So you have been here before, Naruto-sensei?" asked Himawari, curious for a story.

"Yeah, just once and unfortunately the memory is vague and small in details," Naruto answered. "I wasn't to good at paying attention to anything back then."

Naruto suddenly stopped dead in his tracks; a chill had just went down his spine. There was something in the air and it was telling him something just wasn't right. His three Genin stopped quickly as well, nearly tripping over themselves and running into their sensei. They all wondered just what was going on.

"Why'd we stop?" asked Shiro, his tone made it seem he was bored.

"Something here doesn't feel right," answered Naruto as he scanned his surroundings.

"What do you mean?" asked Himawari, confused.

"I can't quite explain it. All I know, is I have a bad feeling about this mission now," Naruto replied.

Naruto wasn't the one to be scared so easily, but this feeling that was washing over him was just so overwhelming. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, the only times Naruto was ever this 'unpleasant' as he would put it, was when he was about to fight _him_. Even sensing that he was around froze him in fear. Then it confused him because it was just a rumoer that someone with the Sharingan was around. Suddenly, the quiet air was invaded by the sound of someone sobbing in the distance. He shook off his uneasy feeling and headed in the direction of the sound.

"Naruto-sensei?" Hiroshi stared at his sensei as he walked.

As Naruto got closer, the sobbing got louder and then it sounded more defined; it was a woman crying. Sure enough as Naruto got passed the tall grass, he saw a female sitting on the ground with her head buried in her knees, sobbing away.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he walked up to her, kneeling down to her level. The woman looked up from her knees, tears dripping from her eyes, her face stained with said tears. Her brown eyes were blood-shot and the bangs of her mid-back length brown hair was a little messy. Her blue shirt was wet around the collar. It signified that she had been crying for quite a while. She wore a forehead protector that symbolized a waterfall. She then examined Naruto's forehead protector.

"You're a Konoha-nin, right?" she asked. Her voice cracking.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Some man, he attacked the village," she answered.

"What do you mean attacked?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, he's in the village trying to get Shibuki-sama to give him the village for some revolution he's seeking," she replied. "Please, you got to help us, he's very strong. Shibuki-sama just might give in."

Naruto looked at her in shock, '_He's still trying to do that revolution bullshit, I thought I beat some sense into his cursed Uchiha brain,_'

Naruto then stood up and sighed, "Well we did come here to investigate some Takigakure-nin deaths, I guess I have no choice but to lend a helping hand."

"Thank you, thank you," the woman pleaded. She stood up and motioned Naruto and his team to follow here.

"I hope you're strong enough," she said, guiding them through the forest.

"Well I'm a Jounin, so I believe I am," Naruto reassured her with his trademarl grin and giving her a thumbs up. The woman smiled. Naruto, however, didn't believe his answer himself.

The woman led them to a large waterfall. She took them behind it where there was a cave. Inside the cave housed pools of green-colored water. Naruto's Genin were amazed by the beauty.

"So the village is on the other side of this cave?" asked Shiro.

"Well, sort of," the woman replied. They stopped a large green-colored pool. "We have to swim through this first."

The woman jumped in with Naruto motioning his Genin to go first. Hiroshi went in first, followed by Himawari and Shiro right after. Naruto then jumped in last, bringing up the rear.

* * *

"Please stop it! We don't have the means to support what you want!" yelled an old woman. Her hair grey and she was wearing a white and purple dress.

"Shut up," said the man nearby. The coldness in his voice was enough to freeze a glass of water if there was one. He then slapped her out of the way. His main objective was standing in front of him. A man in his early 30s. He had dark brown hair. His bangs covered parts of his forehead protector. He wore a dark green collard shirt with a black mesh shirt underneath. He wore an angry expression, but underneath was a look of fear.

"Why do you think I'm just going to hand you over my village so you can start some war?!" asked the man.

The man who was now hovering over him had messy raven-colored hair. He wore a light blue robe shirt that showed his bare chest. He had on dark blue sweat pants and a ridiculously oversized robe belt tied in a bow on his lower back. His Kusanagi entangled in the rope.

"I don't think, I know you're going to give me the village," replied the cold voice.

"I'm not going to let you get my village involved in a war with the Five Great Shinobi Villages!" yelled the man on the ground.

The raven-haired man was getting tired of this man's defiance. He grabbed the man on the ground by the neck and lifted him into the air.

"I'll tell you one last time, hand over you're village, I'll even spare your life," the raven-haired male demanded.

* * *

A brown-haired woman's head appeared out of the green water. Soon to follow was Naruto's three Genin and then Naruto himself. Hiroshi looked around and then noticed the huge tree that was sitting in the background behind them. He then noticed the village along the shore. On that shore he saw two men. One standing and had the other held up in the air by his neck. Naruto immediately recognized the man in blue and his eyes widened.

"Sasuke..." he whispered to himself. Himawari, who was in the water next to him, heard.

"Who?" she asked but Naruto did not hear her. Naruto jumped out of the water as quickly as he could and landed back on top of it.

"Whoa! He can walk on water!" Hiroshi yelled, he was surprised. Naruto, however, didn't take any notice of his student. The woman that had guided Naruto and his Genin to the village also jumped out of the water and landed on top of the surface of the water, standing next to Naruto. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"Do you know that man thats holding up Shibuki-sama?" asked the woman.

Naruto sighed and nooded,"Yes, my so-called brother and ex-teammate, Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

"Still being defiant," Sasuke began as he pulled out his Kusagani. "I guess I'll just have to kill you and take this village by force."

Shibuki closed his eyes, he was ready for death but also cursed himself for unable to defend his village from this invader. But that death never came when heard an angry piercing scream.

"Sasuke!" yelled Naruto as he appeared between Shibuki and Sasuke and grabbed Sasuke's arm that was holding up Shibuki. Naruto crushed it with enough force that caused Sasuke to let go. As soon as Sasuke did so, Naruto didn't leave any room for error as he punched Sasuke in the face with such a force that sent Sasuke crashing into the ground. Sasuke's body skid a few feet. Shibuki immediately recognized the messy blonde hair on the man before him.

"N-Naruto?" he stuttered.

"Yes, that's me!" He grinned. He turned his attention to the woman and his Genin. "Hiroshi, Himawari Shiro, help this lady guard Shibuki as he recovers, okay?"

Shibuki struggled to get up. The woman that had led Naruto and his Genin into the village rushed to Shibuki's side and helped him up. Following behind her were Naruto's Genin. The woman and Naruto's Genin then stood guard and watched what was about to unfold.

Sasuke had recovered from the punch as he stood back up staring down Naruto who stared back. No words were uttered, just a long focused stare down.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence. "Hope you're not trying to convince me yet again to return to Konoha."

"I could ask you the same thing," Naruto replied. "I'm here on a mission. I was hoping the rumors about a man with Sharingan were false, but here you stand."

Sasuke let out a cold laugh, "Ignorant."

"Shut up asshole," Naruto said with force. "Just leave here, your false ideals of trying to change the Shinobi world with this revolution you want will never work. I thought I beat that into you already?"

Sasuke laughed coldly, "No matter what you say, one of these days I will change the system and I'm going to kill you to make it a reality."

Sasuke then ran at Naruto at a high speed and threw a few shuriken his way. They hit their target but only for Naruto to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

"What?" Sasuke said in surprise.

"It's been a while since that fight after sealing that Kaguya demon, I've grown so much stronger since then," a voice echoed through the village.

"Come down here and fight me like a man!" Sasuke demanded.

"Gladly," Naruto said and kicked Sasuke in the back. Sasuke fell foward into the ground. However, Sasuke used the fall to twirl a kick to knock Naruto off his feet, but again Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Damn it, another **Kage Bunshin**!" Sasuke yelled. He was starting to get frustrated already.

Naruto appeared on top of a tree branch high up in the large tree in the center of the village. He was still visible however.

"You're not going to win this fight yet again Sasuke. I'm far above you know. Ever since you absorbed Orochimaru yet again, your strength has stayed the same. I only continue to grow stronger as I continously learn new things," Naruto taunted. Sasuke disappeared and appeared behind Naruto.

'_**Shunshin no Jutsu**__, huh?'_ Naruto thought as he looked behind him.

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked. "Well, you'll die here and now."

Saskue then pulled out his Kusanagi and stabbed Naruto through his chest. Sasuke growled in frustration as Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke yet again. Before Sasuke could respond, two more Naruto bunshin kicked Sasuke into the air. While the real Naruto appeared above him and slammed his foot into his face. Sasuke hit the ground face first hard. Naruto jumped down to the ground nearby and looked at Sasuke who just laid there.

"You may have gotten the best of me times before, but those days are all over now," Naruto said. Sasuke let out a cold laugh as he got to his feet.

"I've always been stronger than you and that's never going to change!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto smirked, "Well I guess we're about to get serious in this fight."

The two former teammates stared each other down. The real fight was just about to begin.

"This is bad," Shibuki whispered as he watched the two stared each other down, waiting for the other to make their move.

* * *

**Next: Chapter 6: Fight**

**Translations: (Just in case some don't know)**

**Takigakure: **Village Hidden in the Waterfall

**Kusanagi:** Grass-Cutter

**Kage Bunshin: **Shadow Replication

**Shunshin no Jutsu:** Body Flicker Technique


	6. Fight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Takigakure Arc]**

* * *

The large ancient tree hovering over the green-colored lake blew in the wind. Killer intent filled the air, it would be suffocating. Standing on the shoreline was a blonde-haired Konoha jounin who was staring down another man, a raven-haired male. It had been several years since their last encounter. Naruto won that fight but Sasuke escaped.

'_I'm not holding back anymore. Today I end this once and for all,'_ Naruto thought still staring down Sasuke. Sasuke then broke the silence.

"You may have beaten me in our last fight, but you still failed to kill me," Sasuke said. "So in my eyes, you're still weak. I'm not going to use my Sharingan to prove that I am stronger than you."

"You really don't know what you're going up against no," Naruto replied. "I've learned a few more techniques in the last few years."

"So what?" Sasuke replied coldly. "You're still going to die here today."

Naruto didn't reply to Sasuke's statement and formed a hand seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" he yelled and dozens of Naruto replications appeared.

"The same old tricks," Sasuke replied and charged at the replications and began attacking them.

One after the other, Sasuke struck down the replications. Each replication he struck, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Unbeknownst to Sasuke, this was all part of Naruto's plan as he threw shuriken at Sasuke. Sasuke dodged them with ease. However, one of the shuriken transformed into a Naruto replication which Sasuke didn't see and snuck up from behind. Sasuke was too busy striking down the other replications that were in front of him to realize what was about to happen. The replication behind Sasuke kicked him in the back and straight up in the air. Sasuke couldn't believe he was caught off so easily. Above Sasuke, standing on a branch was a Naruto replication. He jumped from the branch and plunged his foot into Sasuke's face. Sasuke fell into the ground hard. He was then picked up by another Naruto replication and was swung around and tossed into the air. Sasuke was flying toward the real Naruto who smirked as he began pumping chakra into his fist. Sasuke tried to stop himself in mid air but no such luck. The fist connected to Sasuke's face and he fell into the water. Naruto stood on the water and waited. Sasuke jumped out of the water and peformed a series of hand seals.

"**Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu**!" yelled Sasuke as fire began pouring around Naruto. Sasuke smirked as he thought he had got Naruto. But once the fire and smoke cleared, Naruto wasn't anywhere to be found.

'_What!? He dodged it!_' Sasuke was shocked. He was sure that had hit Naruto directly.

"You're going to have to do better than that Sasuke-teme!" Naruto yelled. The voice just echoed over the lake. Sasuke couldn't pinpoint the location.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**," Naruto whispered to himself. The replications went after Sasuke.

* * *

Hiroshi, Shiro and Himawari along with the woman Taki-nin and Shibuki watched the fight as another Taki-nin wearing a white lab coat had shown up and began healing the minor injuries Shibuki had suffered earlier before Naruto and his team had arrived.

"Naruto is sure giving this guy a hard time," Shiro said while observing.

"I always thought he was just cheerful goof," Himawari added.

Hiroshi rolled his eyes and came to his sensei's defense, "Come on guys, he is a Jounin after all."

"Well Hiroshi-kun, we can act surprised," Himawari replied. "This is the first time we actually seen him fight an enemy-nin. I didn't think he'd be so many steps ahead of that enemy-nin."

* * *

Sasuke turned around to see he was now completely surrounded by Naruto replications. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and threw it at one of the replications. The rest charged at Sasuke. Sasuke got onto one of his hands that allowed him to give a spinning kick to dispell a few of the replications. One managed to get by Sasuke and kicked his hand from underneath Sasuke causing him to fall. Sasuke hit the ground face first, dirt was something he was getting aquainted with quite well just now. Sasuke quickly turned over but a few of Naruto replications grabbed him and held him down. Sasuke couldn't believe he couldn't get loose. He was stronger than Naruto, but yet here was trapped. Naruto jumped down to the ground. Sasuke continued to stare while Naruto regained his posture. Anger and a little bit of hate were visible in Naruto's eyes. Sasuke's eyes held that of embarrasment of him falling into a trap, a trap set by Naruto of all people. Naruto held out his hand, his fingers bent as if he was holding a ball. Blue chakra began spinning around in his hands. Short time later, a full spiraling sphere was in his hand. Naruto then charged at Sasuke.

"**Rasengan**!" he yelled and plunged the spiraling chakra ball into Sasuke's abdomen. The replications all dispersed and Sasuke was engulfed in light as he screamed out in pain.

"See Sasuke," Naruto began. "I'm on a whole different level now."

Sasuke managed to find the strength to get up.

'_But he's still a tough opponent,_' thought Naruto.

"You've outsmarted me enough," Sasuke said, no emotion at all. "Now it's my turn."

* * *

Naruto's Genin looked on, the sheer power of the jutsu Naruto just used. It shocked them to the core, they couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.

"That was cool!" Hiroshi praised, "What was that technique?"

"I don't know," answered Shiro, "But it was definately something powerful."

"Naruto-sensei is definately stronger than he lets on," added Himawari.

Shibuki watched on as well. He was having a hard time believing that was Naruto at all.

'_This can't be the same annoying brat that came here thirteen years ago,_' Shibuki thought.

"What other techniques does he know?" the Taki kunoichi asked.

"We don't know," answered Hiroshi. "When he tested us to officially become Genin, he didn't use very many techniques, mostly just Taijutsu."

* * *

Sasuke was tired of the game and he was going to end this silly fight here and now. He performed a few hands and electric-type chakra formed in his hands. It was screaming like a thousand birds chirping all at once. With his left hand, Sasuke pulled out his Kusagani and forced the chakra into his blade. The blade started glowing as electricity surrounded the blade. Sasuke smirked and then charged, it was so fast that Naruto couldn't react, or so everyone watching thought, and Sasuke sliced through Naruto with his electrified Kusagani.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled Himawari as the blade sliced through Naruto. Tears began forming in her eyes as she looked away.

"It's all over," Sasuke said coldly, smirking evily in triumph, but that changed quickly as he turned back and noticed he had cut a log.

"He used the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**," Sasuke said to himself. Sasuke then walked up the log that was split in half. Suddenly he felt cold steel on his throat. It was a kunai, holding it was Naruto. Sasuke froze in shock.

"See, I'm one step ahead of you," whispered Naruto.

Sasuke wasn't going to let this get under his skin and ignored Naruto. He elbowed Naruto in the stomach, hard, only for Naruto to disappear in a cloud of smoke. The kunai, however, was real and it fell to the ground. Sasuke almost didn't notice there was an exploding tag wrapped around it.

'_Shit!_' Sasuke screamed in his mind and jumped out of the way as quick as he could. The kunai exploded, Sasuke was still in the blast zone and it ricocheted Sasuke into the ground where he slid a few feet.

"Damn it," Sasuke cursed. He then coughed up some dirt. He struggled to get back up this time, but he still did. Sasuke stood and waited for the cloud of dust the exploding kunai kicked up to clear. When it did, Naruto was standing with the same expression he had held through the fight so far. Sasuke charged at Naruto and the two began a quick Taijutsu match. Naruto dodged a few of Sasuke's punches before getting a fist in the face. Naruto, however, used it against Sasuke. He fell on his hand and used it to prop himself for a spinning kick which connected with Sasuke's ribs. Sasuke spun into the ground. Sasuke grabbed a kunai from his holster and threw it at Naruto. The kunai made contact into Naruto's stomach but he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'_Another fucking __**Kage Bunshin**__, I should have known,_' Sasuke cursed himself. He then felt a kick in the back. In mid air, Sasuke use his momentum to turn in the air and threw more kunai to find nobody was behind him.

"What the..." Sasuke didn't get to finish his comment before he was kicked again, straight in the back. This happened several more times before a foot connected to his face and was brought down to the ground, hard. Sasuke struggled to get back up but he managed.

'_How the hell did this loser get so strong? So fast? I'm going to have to use my Sharingan after all,'_ Sasuke thought.

* * *

"I- I just can't believe what's happening," Hiroshi said, stuttering a little. "Naruto-sensei just keeps tricking Sasuke and landing blows."

"The other guy is barely fighting back," Shiro added.

"The bastard was so sure of himself that he was going to win that he's not even trying," Shibuki added. "It's becoming his downfall."

Naruto's Genin along with Shibuki and the Taki Kunoichi continued to watched the fight.

* * *

"Alright, I'll admit, you've proven to have gotten stronger since our last encounter," Sasuke said. "But you still can't win against my Sharingan."

"You think so?" Naruto replied, "We'll just have to see about that."

"Suit yourself," Sasuke said. "It's your funeral after all."

Sasuke closed his eyes. A few seconds later he reopened them, but this time his black eyes turned into red. HIs pupil was surrounded by a ring with three coma-shapped spots. This pattern was in both eyes.

"Now I'll be able to see everything that comes my way," he finished.

'_That's what you think. I have a new technique that's so fast, even the Sharingan will have a hard time picking up on it,_' thought Naruto. '_But I'll need to find the right time to use it._'

"Well I'm waiting," Sasuke said with his Sharingan now active.

* * *

"Sharingan?" questioned Hiroshi, "What the hell is Sharingan?"

"I don't really no the extent of that power," replied Shibuki. "But it's going to turn bad for Naruto now."

"I've read about the Sharingan," Shiro confessed. "From what I've read is that it's a Kekke Genkai from the Uchiha clan that once resided in Konohagakure. Unfortunately, one Uchiha clan member slaughtered the entire clan leaving only one surviving Uchiha, be he too became an S-Class Missing-nin several years later."

"Then that Missing-nin must be this Sasuke guy Naruto-san's fighting," spoke the woman kunoichi.

"They seemed to have battled before this as well," Hiroshi added, recalling what he had heard Naruto and Sasuke said earlier in the fight.

"But Naruto-sensei has survived each time," Himawari added.

"I don't know what bad blood they have between each other, but it looks like this is getting serious," Shiro said.

Shibuki sighed, "I don't like where this is going at all."

They continued to watch as Sasuke stood, Sharingan fully active, waiting for Naruto's next move. That's when he looked over and saw Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro watching nearby with Shibuki and the Takigakure kunoichi. He noticed the Konohagakure forehead protectors the three younger ones where wearing. Sasuke smirked.

'_If he won't come out by himself, I'll use those kids to force him out._'

Sasuke began walking over to the Genin, knowing they could not go anywhere fast enough because of their level of skill. Hiroshi noticed first.

"Oh shit!" Hiroshi yelled, fear began pumping through his veins. "He's coming over here!"

* * *

**Next Up: Chapter 7: Boldness**

**Japanese Translations:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** Shadow Replication Technique

**Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu:** Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique

**Kawarimi no Jutsu: **Body Replacement Technique

**Kekke Genkai:** Bloodline Limit


	7. Boldness

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Takigakure Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Boldness**

Sasuke walked towards where Hiroshi, Shiro, Himawari and Shibuki were standing nearby. Shibuki got in front of the kids holding a kunai in his hand even though he knew he was no match for the Uchiha. He sighed and swallowed his fear that was flowing through his body and readied himself defensively. Shibuki wasn't going to let this Missing-nin bring the young Genin into the battle that was just supposed to between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Stay away!" yelled Shibuki as Sasuke got gloser. Sasuke just smirked and appeared behind him and in front of the three Genin. Hiroshi's eyes widened.

"W-what?" stuttered Hiroshi. Shiro stood beside Hiroshi, albeit he was scared. Himawari was standing behind the two boys, she was frozen with fear and couldn't move. Sasuke smirked again and picked up Hiroshi by the neck.

"H-hey, let me go!" protest Hiroshi. Sasuke just stared. He wasn't going to hurt again, he found it hard to harm people he never met before. He just wanted Naruto out of hiding so he was going to use the boy to do so. Soon Sasuke's grip on Hiroshi tightened a bit. What Sasuke didn't see coming was Hiroshi pulled out a kunai and stabbed Sasuke in the hand that was holding him up by the neck. This caused Sasuke to let go of Hiroshi and focused on stopping the bleeding. Taking advantage of Sasuke's distraction, Hiroshi peformed hand seals.

"**Doton: Doryudan**!" yelled Hiroshi. A large dragon head formed from the ground made of dirt and rock. It opened its mouth and fired out balls of earth. Sasuke quickly looked up after heading Hiroshi yell to see the earth projectiles coming at him.

'_How does a Genin know an advance technique like that?_' thought Sasuke as he maneuvered to dodge the earth projectiles and landed perfectly back on the ground in the same exact spot he was standing.

"Damn it, he dodged it," Hiroshi said to himself. "I can't do another one."

"You have potential since you know that advanced Jutsu," Sasuke said, "But you were a fool."

Up in the large tree surrounding the village with its branches, a blonde Jounin was watching what was taking place below.

'_That was brave Hiroshi, you bought me a little more time,_' Naruto thought with a smile.

Down on the surface shorline, Sasuke walked over Hiroshi. Hiroshi couldn't think of anything to do now, he used his best Jutsu and Sasuke dodged it like it was nothing. Sasuke reached Hiroshi and grabbed him by the throat yet again with his other hand.

"I dare you to stab me again," Sasuke taunted. Hiroshi stared. he knew if he tried again, the man that was holding him would see it coming and be able to stop it with no effort. HIroshi struggled to get lose, but it was no use.

"Naruto-sensei, where are you?" Hiroshi whispered to himself.

"Naruto, if you don't show yourself, I'll kill the kid," Sasuke lied. His voice however, sounded serious. Sasuke turned his head to the left just for a second, allowing Naruto a split second to appear and stabbed the arm holding up Hiroshi with several kunai. Sasuke yelled out in pain as he dropped the kid instantly. Sasuke pulled out the kunai that were sticking out of his arm. He held them while he tried to figure out how Naruto literally appeared out of thin air without him sensing it.

"Don't bring these kids into this fight," Naruto stated. "It's just between you and me."

Sasuke chuckled, "I had to find a way to bring you out of hiding. I had no intentions to bring harm to a mere child. It would be a waste of my time."

If Naruto had been the same knuckleheaded ninja he was just years ago, he would of snapped out in anger and rushed in foolishly. However, Naruto had grown up into the fine Jounin he was now. Sure the comment Sasuke just made was still appalling, but he wasn't going to get all bent out of shape over it like he would have back in his Genin days. Instead he just looked ahead at Sasuke with the same expression he held throughout the fight so far.

"At a loss of words?" taunted Sasuke, activating the Sharingan again.

Naruto smirked, "Your Sharingan won't help you now."

"Don't make me laugh," Sasuke replied. "With my Sharingan, you won't even lay another fi..." Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke without him being able to detect it.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke questioned out loud.

"I told you, your Sharingan won't help you know," Naruto said boldly as he gathered chakra into his hand.

"How the hell did you do that?" asked Sasuke, completely shocked what just transpired.

"I'm not telling you that, Sasuke-teme," Naruto replied as he aimed for Sasuke's back.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as he slammed his spiraling chakra ball into Sasuke's back. The pain was intense as the charka burned through his shirt. Sasuke was engulfed in a bright blue light and sent flying through the air for hundreds of feet.

"N-Naruto-sensei?" Hiroshi looked on.

"It's alright, you did good taking advantage that you did earlier," Naruto praised him. "Later on, we'll have to talk about how to use your jutsu's effectively."

Hiroshi nodded as Naruto turned his attention to the battered Uchiha. While Naruto was talking to Hiroshi, Naruto didn't notice Sasuke got up and disappeared.

'_Damn it, he shouldn't have been able to get up from that last Rasengan!_' Naruto though as he scanned his environment for any trace of the Uchiha, '_Where the hell did he go?_'

"**Hey kit, let me help you, we can sniff him out,"** Kurama spoke within Naruto's conscience.

'_Not yet, I don't want to go into the Kyuubi mode just yet,_' Naruto replied.

Kurama sighed, "**You're going to need me sooner or later, baka!"**

Naruto just ignored the fox. He put his focus back on finding Sasuke himself. Before Naruto could continue any further, Sasuke appeared in front of him, his lightning chakra was infused with his Kusanagi and aimed for Naruto

"**Chidorigatana**!" Sasuke yelled as he stabbed Naruto through the chest.

"Naruto-sensei!" cried Himawari watching what was transpiring in front of her. Hiroshi and Shiro looked away, there were silenced.

"My God," Shibuki muttered out at the sight. However, a wave of relief hit Team Eleven and Shibuki as Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke revealing a log. Sasuke just stood in place.

'_What? He used the __**Kawarimi no Jutsu**__! How did the Sharingan not see that coming?'_ Sasuke contemplated. Naruto appeared behind Sasuke and slammed a kick into the wound he had left by his earlier Rasengan. The pain brought Sasuke to his knees.

"For the past few years I've been working on a technique that could move me at the speed of light," Naruto explained. "I call it **Kousoku no Jutsu**."

Sasuke struggled to get back up as Naruto continued his explaination.

"It's so fast that even the Sharingan can't trace the movement nor copy it," he continued as Sasuke finally managed to get back up on his feet. "That's why your Sharingan won't work."

Sasuke just turned around to land a blow to Naruto's face. Sasuke blinked and Naruto was gone. Naruto was instantly behind him and swipe-kicked Sasuke's legs, causing the Uchiha to fall to the ground. Sasuke then quickly struck a blow into Naruto's stomach with his right foot. He then jumped up quickly and punched Naruto in the face. Naruto fell back to the ground. Sasuke took out his sword and pointed it down at Naruto and tried to stab him. Naruto rolled over and tried to trip Sasue again but he jumped and tried to stab Naruto again. Naruto quickly took out a kunai and blocked the sword with it. Sasuke was slowly winning as Naruto was losing his strength to hold back Sasuke's blade with his kunai.

"I will kill you," Sasuke said coldly. Naruto just looked up, his strength was about to reach its limit with holding Sasuke's Kusanagi with a mere kunai. Naruto accepted that he made a miscalculation in his efforts against Sasuke and accepted that he may just die here after all. Shiro, Himawari and Shibuki just stood there, helpless. Hiroshi, however, would not watch his sensei die and got in front of everyone and began performing hand seals.

'_I have to try to save Naruto-sensei. Here goes nothing. __**Doton: Doryudan**__!'_ Hiroshi called out mentally. To Shibuki and Hiroshi's teammates surprise. A dragon head formed out of the earth and shot out balls of solid earth. Naruto looked over Sasuke to see it coming.

"Any last words before I kill you?" asked Sasuke. Naruto waited a bit longer until the earth projectiles were close enough that Sasuke couldn't dodge them. "Well?"

"Yes I do," Naruto started. "This next one's going to hurt."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with confusion, but before he could do anything about it, projectiles of solid earth slammed into Sasuke. The force of the projectiles pushed him into a stone structure nearby in the streets of the village. Naruto proceeded to get up and rushed to Hiroshi when he collapsed from exhaustion by using too much chakra.

"Hiroshi, you took a big risk of chakra depletion by using that jutsu twice," Naruto scolded.

"S-sorry Naruto-sensei, but I needed to do something," replied Hiroshi.

"But I thank you, it helped. Next time, don't over do it," Naruto said with a smile.

'_Looks like the kid will be able to use that high technique twice now,_' Naruto thought and then turned his attention back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, let's end this here and now," Naruto stated. Sasuke just stood up and stared back at Naruto. He couldn't comprehend the fact that Naruto had become so much stronger than him since their last encounter. He couldn't even believe the fact Naruto had created a jutsu that was almost inferior to the Sharingan's ability to see through any jutsu. Naruto had surpassed him. He had Naruto right where he wanted him but if it wasn't for the Genin Naruto had with him, he would of finally finished off Naruto which he has been trying to do for so long.

'_Damn it, I'm getting exhausted. If I don't end this soon, I'll have to retreat._' Sasuke thought to himself. He was literally backed up into the corner now. He thought he was strong enough to kill Naruto without his Sharingan. Now that he was using it, it still wasn't enough. He was going to have to do something something more now. He also didn't want to bring out the Kyuubi's power, then he'd surely be done for. He already took a chance by using the Genin kid to try and force Naruto out of hiding earlier. Sasuke had no choice, he was going to have to step it up.

"I'll have to use Mangekyou Sharingan now," Sasuke said to himself.

* * *

**Next Time: Chapter 8: Final Act**

**Japanese Translations:**

**Doton: Doryudan: **Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet

**Chidorigatana: **One Thousand Bird Katana

**Kawarimi no Jutsu:** Body Replacement Technique

**Kousoku no Jutsu: **Speed of Light Technique


	8. Final Act

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Takigakure Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Final Act**

The midday sun shined directly over Konohagakure. A light breeze was flowing through the air, keeping the day nice and cool. A pink-haired kunoichi was walking through the streets. She was in deep thought. The note Naruto left her on his dining table a few days ago was still fresh on her mind. She sighed as she felt lonely that Naruto wasn't here with her and wished he had tracked her down to tell her, but the note was good enough. Suddenly she bumped into something as she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sakura said before realizing who she had bumped into.

"It's alright Sakura-san," said the black-haired young man. He wore a green long-sleef button up shirt. He wore a blue scarf that was wrapped around his neck and wearing standard dark blue Shinobi pants. "Hey, have you seen Naruto around?"

"He's not in the village Konohamaru, he went on a mission with his team a few days ago," answered Sakura.

"He has a team now?" Konohamaru asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you mean he didn't tell you?" Sakura asked, a little surprised Naruto didn't go bragging to Konohamaru.

"No, I've been busy with missions of my own and stuff," Konohamaru said then something clicked in his brain. "Shit, speaking of missions, I'm going on one right now to the Land of Waves for some trading thing or someting, see you later Sakura-san."

"Goodbye Konohamaru," Sakura said while waving.

Sakura sighed, '_Come home soon, Naruto-kun._'

* * *

Sasuke stood staring down Naruto who was just a few feet away. Sasuke's eyes changed from his standard **Sharingan** to his **Mangekyou Sharingan**. His eyes patterns now had a pattern in the middle ressembling a windmill with triangular patters surrounding it. Inside the pattern was red while outside was black. Naruto knew this was getting serious now that Sasuke decided to go this far again. He knew it was time to finish this quickly. He was starting to feel fatigued and he knew Sasuke was as well. Naruto started to comtemplate whether or not to kill him. Even though Sakura finally got over Sasuke and fell in love with him and relieved him of the burden of the promise to bring the Uchiha back, he still felt some what obligated to do so for his sake. Even though he failed to get him to come home the second time they fought, this was different now. Sasuke had fallen even further in his darkness than ever before. Naruto sighed and made up his mind. The only way to end both their suffering was to kill Sasuke.

Naruto made the first move, he threw three shuriken at Sasuke. This made Sasuke raise an eyebrow, what was Naruto trying to accomplish with a useless attack as that. Sasuke moved to the side and dodged them as they swirled by and hit the shore. Naruto also changed his appearence. He went into his **Kyuubi Chakura Moudo**. He was completely engulfed in yellow chakra, which was a combination of his and the Kyuubi's. He had swirl patterns on both arms connected with thick lines. The thick lines also went down his chest and arched around the seal on his stomach down to his thights. Along his neckline tomoe's that looked like the number 9 went around his neck just as if it was a necklace. It was quick and he suddenly appeared in front of Sasuke throwing punches and kicks. Sasuke was able to read his movements and was able to dodge them with ease. Suddenly Naruto was behind him, he must of used the speed he gained with the **Kyuubi Chakura Moudo** and his new invention and felt a fist into his back. Sasuke stumbled forward and scoffed at the fact he was still hit. Time to bring the real guns out. Suddenly Sasuke was engulfed with purple chakra, he was being protected by a Samurai looking creature. His **Susano'o** was released. It didn't have a human face, but it looked to have armor of that of a samurai and was holding a sword. Naruto knew it was time. Suddenly Naruto was inside his own form of protection. Kurama, appearing in Naruto's yellow chakra.

"Wh-what is that?" asked Hiroshi, scared of what Naruto had transformed into. He, along with Himawari and Shiro had no idea Naruto had this kind of... _power_.

"I-I don't know," stuttered Himawari. Shiro looked on without a word.

Naruto in his **Kyuubi Chakura Moudo** and Sasuke inside his **Susano'o** charged. Naruto's Kurama outline and Sasuke's **Susano'o** traded blows, both equal in strength so they just cancelled each other out. Sasuke pumped some of his lightning chakra into his **Susano'o**'s blade and tried to stab Naruo. Naruto dodged and appeared behind Sasuke and tried to hit him with Kurama's tail. Susasno'o blocked the blow.

"Even after all these years since that second time at the Valley of the End," Sasuke began. "You're still too weak."

Sasuke's **Susano'o** managed to hit Naruto as he was caught off guard with Sasuke's announcement and received the blow. It didn't cause much damage more than it just Naruto didn't see it coming but Naruto regained his composure quickly. It was now time to put his plan into action.

Sasuke could see Naruto was going to make a move and decided he will counter it. Naruto and his Kurama cloak began forming charka and Kurama's mouth. Sasuke and his **Susano'o** were creating a giant Chidori at the tip of the **Susano'o**'s sword. After Naruto and Sasuke's attacks were ready, the charged at each other. Naruto and Kurama's Tailed Beast Bomb and Sasuke's **Susano'o** Chidori collided creating a massive explosion that rocked Takigakure. The ball was bright and it blinded everyone that was watching. The light faded and when the smoke cleared, all that remained on the lake was Sasuke and his **Susano'o**. Naruto was no where to be found. Did Sasuke defeat Naruto? Kill him even?

"N-Naruto-sensei!" Hiroshi shouted as tears began forming in his eyes.

"No, he couldn't of been killed," Himawari said softly, tears forming in her eyes too. Shiro, who didn't show much emotion didn't say anything but tears also formed in his eyes. He couldn't believe what he had witnessed.

Sasuke smirked when he found Naruto was no where to be found. He must of received much of the force of the explosion and ended up in the lake where he would drown if he wasn't dead already. He turned to Shibuki who was standing on the shore and great anger began to fill him.

"You!" Sasuke yelled pointing at Shibuki, "You called that idiot here, didn't you?"

"N-no I did not!" yelled back Shibuki. "I had no idea ninja from Konohagakure were coming here."

Sasuke released the **Susano'o** and it disappeared from sight. He took out a kunai and walked toward Takigakure's leader.

"You're lying," replied Sasuke. It was a cold reply. "And for that, I will kill you."

Naruto's Genin and the female Taki-nin couldn't do anything but watch, frozen with fear as Sasuke got closer. Even Shibuki was afraid of this cold-hearted Shinobi and couldn't do anything to stop him. Sasuke raised the kunai in his hand and slashed Shibuki across his neck. Blood began pouring out of the room as Shibuki choked. Sasuke would never resort to killing an innocent person but Shibuki wasn't innocent, he brought Naruto here to stop him from taking over Takigakure to base his revolution that he still wanted. He was also angry that Naruto almost overpowered him again.

"Shibuki!" cried the brown-haired female Taki-nin. She grabbed Shibuki's body as it fell and slid to the ground holding him. She began crying hysterically. The leader of Takigakure was dead. Naruto's Genin turned away in horror at seeing so much blood had poured out of the wound Sasuke caused on Shibuki, except Hiroshi who looked on in anger.

"Why the fuck did you do that for!?" yelled Hiroshi. Sasuke turned his attention to the kid, he wasn't going to waste his time killing the mere children.

"He brought it on himself," Sasuke replied coldly. "Calling for Naruto to stop me no longer made him an innocent person."

Hiroshi was confused and angered more by Sasuke's answer.

"No wonder Naruto-sensei calls you a teme," began Hiroshi. "Shibuki-sama didn't call us here, Hokage-sama gave us a mission to investigate some murders."

Sasuke didn't reply, he simply just stared at the boy. Did he just slay an innocent person after all? A child wouldn't lie. No matter, it was time to finish what he started.

* * *

A pink-haired woman walked down the streets of Konohagakure. The Great Stone Faces was in her view as three children followed her. Her Genin team. Sakura was heading to the Hokage Tower so her team could get their mission for the day. As she walked, she couldn't help feel a little sad. Naruto took off with his team on a mission a few days ago. This was the first time since they've got together that they were apart. She should of known one day this would come, but she hoped it had come later rather than sooner. At least this small mission today would keep her mind off it at least for now.

"Ne, Sakura-sensei, are you okay?" asked Botsuraku Aki, the female Genin of the team. "You look a little occupied."

Sakura smiled, "Yeah I'm just fine Aki."

"Think we can get a better mission than running errands and picking up trash today?" asked Shinji.

Sakura sighed, "I wish that was possible Shinji, but we have to do whatever Tsunade-shishou gives me."

Sakura and her Genin walked into the Hokage Tower and walked up countless flights of stairs and headed straight for the Mission Reception Room. Sakura walked over to the recepionist told her their business and returned to her Genin waiting their turn. It was a short wait when Sakura's team was called in and they walked into the Mission Reception Room.

"Ah Sakura, you're here," Tsunade said.

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou, here for our mission," Sakura said with a smile.

Tsunade looked through the D-Rank mission scroll and found something just for them.

"The casino in Tanzaku Town needs help with its renovations, it seems like the contractor they had hired baled on the owner and has asked for some Genin for help," Tsunade offered.

"Very well Tsunade-shishou, we'll take it," Sakura said. She then turned to her team. "Ok guys, meet me at the Gate in thirty minutes ok?"

The three Genin nodded and exited the room. Sakura then turned back to Tsunade.

"Pardon me, but can I have a word with in you private?" asked Sakura.

Tsunade nodded and ushered Sakura into her office. Tsunade sat in her chair and looked up at Sakura.

"What do you need to speak to me about?" asked Tsunade.

"How long is Naruto going to be gone?" Sakura asked. A shade of red formed in her face at the embarrassment of the question she just asked.

Tsunade smirked, "He should return in a couple of days. Why? Are you worried?"

"A little bit," Sakura said biting down on her bottom lip, "It's not like him to just leave without telling me, he just left a note on the dining room table."

"Yeah, that was my fault," Tsunade answered back. "It was an urgent matter and he was sent out pretty much immediately."

Sakura felt a weight lift from her shoulders, "Okay, thank you Tsunade-shishou."

"Sure thing," Tsunade said.

Sakura bowed in respect and turned and left the office. While she walked out, two men, wearing blue armor and white masks, walked into the office.

"The ANBU," Sakura said to herself, she was shocked. "I wonder what's going on."

* * *

Sasuke looked around and he decided, the Shinobi of Takigakure were weak. Although it was a good place to be hidden, he couldn't get his revolution started with weak Shinobi. He decided to just burn it all down.

"I will burn this place down with **Amaterasu**!" Sasuke as he opened his left eye which had the **Mangekyou Sharingan**.

Suddenly a large yellow chakra hand grabbed Sasuke and yanked him from the shore. Before Sasuke could use his Genjutsu to help him escape from the yellow chakra hand, it pulled him underwater so he couldn't do such a thing. This forced Sasuke to close his eyes, even turn off his **Mangekyou Shainrgan**. Sasuke struggled to not choke on water as he was pulled through the water. Suddenly he was back out of the water face to face with Naruto, who had a **Rasengan** spiraling in his hand. Not going to be defeated. Sasuke managed to get his right arm free and pulled out his **Kusanagi** and pumped Lightning Chakra into it to extend the blade. He was going to kill Naruto here and now.

On the shoreline, the three shuriken Naruto through earlier then transformed into three Naruto Bunshin. They did not have the **Kyuubi Chakura Moudo** so the Naruto Bunshin in the middle held out its head as the Bunshin on the right began spiraling the chakra into the hand while the one on left began pumping in wind natured chakra forming the **Fuuton: Rasenshuriken**. The two Bunshin that helped forming it dispersed and the one that held the **Rasenshuriken** disappeared and reappeared behind Sasuke.

* * *

After watching the ANBU walk into Tsunade's office. Something about it made her extremely curious. Any other time before she would have just left it alone. This time, however, it was shaking her heart so she felt like she _had_ to eavesdrop. She walked to the door and put her ear to the door. She used a little chakra to enhance her hearing.

"Tsunade-sama," said one of the ANBU, "We followed Uzumaki-san and his team to see if he went on the mission like you requested."

'_What? Tsunade didn't trust Naruto-kun to go?_' Sakura thought, surprised Tsunade thought so little of Naruto.

"Usually the Gaki will go on whatever mission I gave him, but his demenor when I gave him this mission seemed to suggest he really didn't want this mission," Tsunade replied almost as if she knew what Sakura stated mentally. "But Arigatou, you're dismissed."

"Hold on Tsunade-sama, there's actually more," the other ANBU said.

"Is that so?" questioned Tsunade.

"We followed him into the village after Uzumaki-san and his team discovered a Taki-nin crying. She asked Uzumak-san and his Genin to assist the village in stopping a Missing-nin from attacking their village," spoke the ANBU on Tsunade's right.

"Go on."

"Well it turned out that Missing-nin was none other than Uchiha Sasuke," replied the ANBU on Tsunade's left.

Sakura gasped loudly but quickly covered her mouth in hopes Tsunade nor the two ANBU in her office heard it.

* * *

Sasuke's electric blade was about to pierce Naruto when the Naruto he was staring out dispersed, his eyes widened, but before he could do anything he felt something painful slam into his back.

"**Fuuton: Rasenshuriken**!" yelled the Naruto Bunshin from behind.

Sasuke was engulfed inside as the Rasenshuriken grew larger. He screamed out in pain as his body began bleeding out as micro chakra blades slashed him inside and outside his body. Suddenly there was an explosion that sent a shockwave through the village. Some buildings within the village suffered some damage with the intial shockwave.

Hiroshi looked on in amazement. Never in his life had he seen a jutsu so powerful. Himawari and Shiro were just as shocked. The Takigakure Kuniochi also looked up from crying over Shibuki's death to see the sheer power of the jutsu. Suddenly water fell down over the village, Hiroshi and his teammates and the Takigakure kunoichi and Shibuki's body. The blast of the explosion emptied the lake.

After the smoke cleared from the initial blast, Naruto and Sasuke wasn't in sight. Hiroshi walked toward where the water used to be and saw at the lake bottom Naruto was standing over a body.

"Y-you do-dobe," Sasuke chocked out. His body was covered with lacerations that were bleeding out. "Wh-what did you do to me."

Naruto looked down on Sasuke sadly, tears were falling down his cheeks. His brother, his best friend he had finally defeated and worse, was going to die. Naruto didn't answer, he was afraid of opening his mouth.

"The only thing I regret," Naruto began, his voice cracking, "Is that I couldn't get you to see that trying to shelter hate all by yourself would only destroy you in the end. I just wanted my brother back."

Sasuke didn't say another word as he slipped into darkness.

* * *

"Are you sure it was the Uchiha?" yelled out Tsunade. She didn't want to be the one to have sent Naruto to his death accidently. She should have believed the reports of it being someone with **Sharingan**.

'_Naruto-kun could be fighting Sasuke? Naruto almost died the first time and almost couldn't defeat Sasuke the second time,_' she thought as fear began to envelope her from within. When Sasuke knocked her out with a Genjutsu the second time after he and Naruto defeated Kaguya, she finally got over Sasuke and eventually fell in love with Naruto. He was her life and if he died, well she didn't want to think about it.

"We did watch some of the battle before our squad leader sent us here to report back to you, we believe Uzumaki-san will make it. The Uchiha was taking quite a beating before we left."

"Let's hope he'll defeat the Uchiha after all," Tsunade replied.

'_Naruto-kun, please come back home to me_,' Sakura prayed in her mind. She didn't want the love of her life to come back in a body bag.

* * *

Naruto watched, tears falling from his face as the one he thought of as a brother took his last breath. Naruto knew that attack would kill him. Sasuke was tiring out and the sheer force of the jutsu, it was just too much. Naruto collapsed to his knees. How the hell was he going to tell his Sakura-chan what he just did? Sure she didn't feel love for him anymore that was now being given to Naruto, but she still wanted him back to be a team again. This was going to crush her and even more that Naruto was the one to give the final blow.

Hiroshi ran to his sensei, as he got close he could see water falling to the ground. They were coming from Naruto. As he got closer, he knew for sure. Naruto was crying. Why? The body that was laying emotionless was a traitor according to his sensei.

"N-Naruto-sensei, are you okay?" asked Hiroshi, his voice was quiet, it was tensed.

Naruto looked up to see Hiroshi. Hiroshi had a look of worry written across his face. He then turned back to Sasuke.

"As a big of a bastard he was," Naruto began, "He was the closest thing to a brother I've ever had."

Naruto got up and walked over to Hiroshi and ruffled his hair. He smiled down at his student, it was a saddened smile, but a smile.

"Naruto-sensei, he killed Shibuki-sama," Hiroshi replied. Naruto eyes widened, with a nod, the two rushed back to the surface.

When they reached the shoreline, Naruto noticed the damage to the buildings closer to the shore. Did he do that with his **Rasenshuriken**? It wasn't as if he leveled the entire village. But his jutsu did cause some noticeable damage. Hiroshi saw what Naruto was looking at as well and smirked.

"What are you going to do about all that?" he asked pointing to all the buildings that were damaged.

A sweat drop appeared on the back of his head as he began rubbing the back of his head with his right hand and nervously chuckled.

"I-I don't know."

* * *

Tsunade was pacing back and fourth behind her desk. The ANBU that had reported her still stood at attention. They hadn't said a word but they were awaiting their dismissal.

"I think it would have been more wise that the three of you all stayed and helped Naruto defeat the Uchiha," Tsunade said, seething a little. "He might of been winning the fight then, but anything can happen in a Shinobi battle. Sasuke could of made a move to gain the upper hand and ultimately killed Naruto!"

Sakura, who was still listening behind the door, winced at the thought Naruto being killed.

The ANBU bowed their heads, "We're sorry Tsunade-sama, we were only doing what our Squad Leader told us to do."

Tsunade sighed, "I know but I order you to return at once and retreive Naruto and his Genin now!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" said the ANBU on Tsunade's right. The two ANBU then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade then walked back to her chair and sat at her desk. She slammed her fist down on the table. She regretted sending Naruto to Takigakure.

"God I need a drink," she said to no one.

Outside the office, a woman with short black hair wearing a black kimono holding a pig was approaching Tsunade's office whens he saw Sakura by the door.

"Sakura-san, what exactly are you doing?" the woman asked as she approached the door.

Sakura, startled by the invading voice, turned around quickly to see the woman standing a couple of feet away.

"Sh-Shizune-san, you scared me," Sakura said, apparently avoiding her question.

"Sorry about that, but what are you doing?" Shizune asked again.

"Well I, uh..." Sakura was caught off from her apparent explanation as the door to Tsunade's office opened with Tsunade walking out into the hallway.

"Sakura, what are you still doing here?" Tsunade asked, "I thought you would have left by now."

Sakura was quiet and a realization hit Tsunade like a ton of bricks and she sighed heavily.

"You heard the conversation I had with the ANBU, didn't you?" she asked.

Sakura nodded without a word. Tsunade sighed heavily again. She definately needed a drink.

* * *

Naruto and Hiroshi walked over to the woman that was laying on Shibuki, still crying. Shiro and Himawari joined Hiroshi and Naruto looking at the body of Shibuki. Hiroshi wasn't looking, he was looking up at Naruto.

"See Naruto-sensei?" Hiroshi aksed, "See that horribly wound on his neck."

Naruto looked puzzeled. He didn't see any wound on Shibuki. It just looked like he passed out our something. Shiro and Himawari rubbed their eyes. They surely saw Sasuke slashing Shibuki's throat, the massive amount of blood. But there was nothing. Hiroshi saw Naruto's puzzled look and looked at Shibuki and saw no wound, no blood.

"What the hell?" Hiroshi asked to no one. That startled the woman and she looked up to see Naruto and his Genin there.

"Oh, Naruto-san" she said, she looked back down at Shibuki to find no wound and no blood either.

"It was a Genjutsu," spoke Naruto. "Whatever you all saw, was just a Genjutsu."

"So that Sasuke just tricked us into thinking he killed Shibuki," replied the brown-haired woman.

"Yep," replied Naruto.

"So he's alive?" asked the woman.

"Very much so," replied Naruto.

The Takigakure kunoichi was glad.

"Hey, I didn't catch your name?" asked Naruto.

"My name's Kawa," she answered

"Well Kawa, Shibuki just needs rest, he should wake up tomorrow, he'll be okay," Naruto assured the woman.

Kawa smiled, "Hai, thank you Naruto-san."

* * *

"You know you weren't supposed to be eavesdropping," Tsunade finally said, breaking the tension. Sakura just nodded.

"I know you're concerned about Naruto, I'm sure he's just fine," Tsunade reassured Sakura. However, Tsunade half-heartedly believed them herself. Both times Naruto fought Sasuke, he ended up in the hospital. Sakura seemed to of believed her though as she nodded her head. Sakura bowed and walked away unable to find anything else to say.

"Shizune, I'm going for a drink. Keep an eye on things in the office while I'm gone, okay?" Tsunade asked as she walked away.

"Sure thing, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied and then entered Tsuande's office.

Sakura walked down the street, headed for the main gate to take her Genin team to Tanzaku town. She didn't know what to do. She could tell when Tsunade told her that Naruto would be okay that Tsunade didn't believe the words herself. She continued down Konoha's streets deep in thought.

'_I really hope Naruto-kun comes home. He won't stop fighting if it's Sasuke,_' Sakura thought as tears began stinging her eyes. '_Naruto-kun just come home please, for me._'

* * *

Night fell over Takigakure as Naruto's Genin sat on the banks of the now empty lake bed. Naruto looked down at Sasuke's body. He felt numb. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to finally talk some sense into Sasuke and finally get him home but he was too far gone, lost in trying to carry the worlds hatred upon himself. Naruto knew deep inside he did the right thing, but he still felt like he just didn't try hard enough to get Sasuke to the light. Footsteps brought Naruto out of his thoughts and he turned to see who it was. Turned out to be Kawa and Shibuki, who woke up earlier than he had anticipated. Naruto faced Shibuki.

"I see the battle is finally over," Shibuki said.

"Yep, I managed to kill him," Naruto replied dryly. Although deep inside he was sad about how it all went down.

"And I see that there is some damage to some of the buildings in my village," Shibuki said, there was a stint of anger in his voice Naruto picked up on right away.

"Yeah well..." Naruto was about to tell the truth when he was caught off by Kawa.

"It was Sasuke, he tried to burn the entire village down, but Naruto-san stopped him from doing so." lied Kawa.

With Shibuki focused on Kawa, he mouthed a thank you to the woman as a massive wave of relief hit Naruto.

"I figured he would of tried to destroy the village," Shibuki said, believing Kawa. "You and your team look like you need rest. Takigakure will offer the inn for you to stay until you depart tomorrow."

"Sure thing, arigato," Naruto said.

Shibuki guided them to the village's inn nearby.

"This inn is pretty much empty because we hardly allow travelers inside the village anymore," said Shibuiki.

Naruto and his team entered the building and walked into the first room. Shibuki left the inn but Kawa stayed. Naruto noticed and walked up to her.

"Arigato, for saving my ass back there," Naruto said.

"Don't mention it, it was the least I could do for saving the village," Kawa said with a smile. "Sleep well."

Naruto returned to the room where his Genin were setting up their stuff on the bed they were going to sleep on.

"Tomorrow we are headed home," Naruto said with a smile. The Genin all nodded in agreement.

* * *

Sakura just laid in the bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep as thoughts of Naruto coming home severely injured or worse, dead continued to dance in her head. She then remembed when Naruto came back from the first time he had fought Sasuke. So many bandages were wrapped around Naruto's body it was unreal. It almost made him look like a mummy. However, the thought of Naruto looking like a mummy made her giggle a bit. However, she was worried sick. The light of the moon then infiltrated the bedroom. Sakura sighed and turned over to see the empty spot where Naruto would lay with her. Sakura was not going to sleep very well at all tonight. Hopefully Naruto would come home soon alive and well.

* * *

Morning had come just as fast as Naruto fell asleep it seemed. He didn't want to get up; the battle with Sasuke took a lot out of him and he just wante dto lay in bed all day. However, thinking about getting back home to Sakura was the motivation he needed and he forced himself out of the bed. He put his Jounin vest back on and tied his forehead protector back on his forehead. He stretched and yawned. He then walked over to his students.

"Alright you three, it's time to get up, we're leaving," he said firmly. The three Genin groaned and stirred around.

"It's early, Naruto-sensei," groaned Himawari.

"I know, but we need an early start to get home," Naruto replied.

Shiro didn't say anything but did as he told and got out of bed. Himawari soon followed. Hiroshi, well that was a different story. He was still fast asleep in his bed. Naruto sighed and shook Hiroshi.

"Come on, get up damn it," Naruto said. He was annoyed. Getting Hiroshi to wake up was such a hastle. "We don't have all day!"

Hiroshi groaned and turned over and began snoring again. That was the last straw as a vein popped out on Naruto's forehead.

"Wake up!" Naruto yelled into Hiroshi's ear.

"Huh? What's going on?" Hiroshi asked, he was disoriented.

"We're leaving," Naruto said. Hiroshi nodded and got out of the bed. The three Genin put on their normal attire and left the inn.

As the four Konohagakure-nin reached the lake, the found Shibuki and Kawa standing there.

"Just wanted to let you know, three Konoha ANBU retreived Sasuke's body and left with it," said Shibuki.

"Figured as much," Naruto said but inside he was steaming mad. '_That damn Baa-chan, I bet she didn't believe I went on this mission!_'

"Naruto, I want to thank you for what you've done for us yesterday," Shibuki said. "You always do so much for this village."

Naruto smiled, "It's not a problem, no matter what village anyone's from, if they want my help, they're considered my comrad."

"Come back any time you'd like to," Shibuki offered.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to head down the lake bed. The reached the bottom of the great tree to see they had put a ladder for them to get out of the village. Naruto and his team climbed up until the reached the cave they had entered the village from. The exited the cave where the waterfall would have been falling, but since Naruto's jutsu emptied out the lake, there was no waterfall now. They climbed down to the ground below. Naruto looked back one more time.

'_Sorry Shibuki, I don't think I could ever come here again after what happened,_' he thought as tears threatned to escape again. He turned back to his students.

"Alright, let's go home," he said and his team was off.

* * *

Sakura woke up, it was mid-morning and luckily Tsunade gave her the day off after she and her team returned home from their mission in Tanzaku Town. She could see she had a bad night just by the way her eyes looked. She groaned but got ready. She needed to get some things. After she was ready she walked out of Naruto's apartment and headed for the shopping district. She walked down the stairs to the sidewalk only to find a man with wild silver hair standing at the bottom of the stairwell. Sakura recognized him right away.

"Oh, good morning Kakashi-sensei," she said greeting him.

"Good morning Sakura," Kakashi said as he smiled with his eyes. "Tsunade-sama told me to find you and to tell you not to worry about Naruto."

Sakura looked at Kakashi with hopefully eyes. Hoping Tsunade told Kakashi good news. "What did she say?"

"Tsunade-sama told me the ANBU she sent out this morning returned to report Naruto was fine and they were heading out to return. They should be home in a couple of days." the silver-haired Jounin answered.

"Arigato, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said smiling. Kakashi smiled back, with his eyes, then waved goodbye and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Thank God he's alright," Sakura said to herself.

* * *

**Next time: Chapter 9: Crisis**

**Japanese Translations:**  
**Kyuubi Chakura Moudo:** Nine-Tail Chakra Mode  
**Fuuton: Rasenshuriken: **Wind Release: Spiraling Shuriken

**Sorry for the wait. I hit sort of a writers block with this final part of Naruto and Sasuke's fight, now that I got this part done, I should be able to update a litte more faster now.**


	9. Crisis

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

**Arc Summary:**  
**Kakashi, Naruto and his team are sent to Nami no Kuni after Ebisu returns to the village injured and revealing Konohamaru is being held prisoner by unknown ninja who are rumored to want to take control of Nami no Kuni to use their ports for unknown bidding.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Crisis**

The sun was painted in the western horizon as Sakura waited at the village's front gate for the return of her beloved Naruto. She felt like she was being a little obsessive but she really wanted to make sure he was okay and not injured in any way. Sakura knew her reunion with her love would be short lived for the moment as Naruto would have to go to Tsunade's office right away to brief her what happened on his mission. She didn't know it, but she had been waiting at the gate for the past hour. She was about to believe he wasn't coming today until she heard a loud and very familiar voice in the distance. Her ears did not deceive her as that voice was coming from a blonde-haired ninja that was coming into view.

* * *

Naruto and his team have been traveling for the last three days to get home. Naruto tried to pick up the pace but his Genin would just get tired out easily so he eventually had to travel at their pace. But now the gate of Konohagakure came into his view.

"Alright guys, we're almost home," Naruto said happily as he pointed to Konohagakure's gate.

"Good, I am so tired," Shiro said.

"Me too," added Hiroshi.

Naruto chuckled, "Well don't forget, we still got to pay a visit to Tsunade-baachan first."

His three Genin groaned and Naruto chuckled. He turned his attention back to the gate and as they got closer, the first thing he saw was Sakura, standing at the gate with a huge smile on her face. A smile brigher than the sun immediately appeared on his face as he dashed off to meet his love.

The color in Hiroshi's face drained, "Did- did Naruto-sensei just ditch us?"

Sakura blinked and Naruto was there face to face. His huge stupid grin never faultering. The two didn't need to say words as Naruto cupped her face and brought her in with a deep, passionate kiss. Oh how he missed this woman to no end. After what felt like eternity, the two broke the kiss, but they stayed there hugging each other tightly. They finally let each other go, much to Naruto's dismay. Sakura sighed, he had to let him know she knew.

"I over heard Tsunade talking to a couple of ANBU that she sent to tail you and..." Sakura begin, unsure if she should keep going.

"And what?" Naruto interrupted. Although he knew what she was about to say.

"She sent them to follow you to make sure you actually complete the mission," Sakura continued.

Naruto began fuming again, '_That damn Baachan, I knew it!_' "Go on."

"I heard them saying you had fought Sasuke," she finally spitted out.

Naruto sighed, his fears were confirmed, she already know. However, he still couldn't find any words to say. He was afraid to tell her that battle ended in Sasuke's death.

"I was so worried about you," Sakura continued as tears began forming in her eyes. Once they were heavy enough, they started trickling down her cheek. Naruto immediately grabbed Sakura into his arms. She buried her face into his chest. "I was so scared that I was going to lose you."

"I killed him," Naruto bluttered out. He was surprised he actually managed to get it out. Sakura stiffened up in his arms. Naruto's heart was breaking, he was starting to think she was going to hate him.

"You what?" Sakura questioned. She didn't quite hear him right.

"I said I killed him," Naruto said sternly. "He was there trying to take control of Takigakure to make it his base for that revolution he keeps talking about. I decided right there and then he was too far gone for us to save. So I did what I thought needed to be done. I caught him off guard and hit him with my **Rasenshuriken**."

Sakura forced herself out of Naruto's arms. Naruto's heart shattered into pieces with that display. She was going to hate him now.

Sakura, however, felt.. relieved? After Sasuke knocked her out with a Genjutsu a couple of years ago after they had sealed away Kaguya, she knew then Sasuke was beyond saving. She looked into Naruto's eyes and saw...hurt? She then believed Naruto thought she was going to hate him now. So, she kissed Naruto again. Naruto was surprised at first but gave in quickly. He was so relieved she did not hate him.

"It's okay, I don't hate you," Sakura said. "You did what you had to do but to be honest, I knew Sasuke was a different person right after we defeated Kaguya. Naruto-kun, I love you."

Naruto smiled, "I love you too Sakura-chan, I was so worried that you were going to hate me."

Before Naruto could say anything else, Shiro got inbetween Naruto and Sakura. This struck a nerve in Naruto.

"Shiro, what the hell?" he said angrily.

"I want to go home," Shiro replied. "Can we go to Tsunade-sama's office to get the briefing done with?"

Naruto sighed, "Fine." He then looked up at Sakura. "Guess I have to go pay a visit to Tsunade-baachan, I'll see you at home in a little while, okay?"

Sakura smiled, "How about we go on a date instead, meet you at Ichiraku's?"

Naruto smiled, "You bet!"

* * *

Team Eleven arrived at the Hokage Tower. They stared at the stairs they did not want to tackle. They were exhausted from their travel home. Naruto sighed and they began climbing the stairs. The reached the floor where Tsunade's personal office was and reached her door and knocked.

"Come in," a familiar female voice called out from the other side. Naruto and his team entered to find Shizune was at the desk instead.

"Ne, Shizune-neechan? Where's Tsunade-baachan?" asked Naruto.

"She'll be back shortly," Shizune said smiling.

Shiro sighed, he was not pleased with that, "Great, more waiting."

Naruto, however, chose to ignore his impatient Genin and just patiently waited for Tsunade's return. Ten minutes went by when Tsuande finally re-entered her office. She was quite surprised to see Naruto and his team, who, unbelievably were falling asleep. Naruto felt a presence and opened his eyes to find Tsunade sitting down at her desk.

"It's about time," Naruto said. Tsunade ignored the blonde. "And I know about the ANBU you sent to babysit me."

"Then that will make this easier," Tsunade began, "Although I know most of the details of what happened, I want to hear them straight from you."

"What do you want to know first?" asked Naruto.

"Did you find out who killed those Taki-nin?" asked Tsunade.

The color in Naruto's face drained, he forgot to ask Shibuki about that. "I, uh, never got the chance, as soon as we arrived I found a kunoichi named Kawa crying about a man attacking the village. As soon as we got into the village I saw Sasuke and we began to fight."

"What happened to the Uchiha?" she asked.

"I caught him off guard and killed him with the **Rasenshuriken**," the blonde ninja answered. But before anything else could be said the door to Tsunade's office swung opened in haste.

Tsunade looked up, "What's the meaning of this!?"

Then she realized something was wrong. Standing in the doorway was a male Shinobi, he looked like he had been through hell and back. He was wearing sunglasses and had his forehead protector was the bandana style and tied to the back of his head covering his entire head. He wore the traditional Jounin vest and dark blue long-sleeved shirt with the red spiral symbol on both forearms, dark blue pants and blue opened-toe shoes.

"Tsunade-sama," he spoke up. "We have a problem!"

Tsunade nodded and turned her attention back to Naruto for the moment, "Naruto, you and your team are dismissed."

Naruto nodded and walked out the door with his Genin following suit.

* * *

Naruto and his team were walking through the streets of Konoha. They had just left the Hokage Tower and seeing the Closet Pervert rush into Tsunade's office looking beat up had him on edge.

"I wonder what that was all about," Naruto said to no one. He looked behind him to see his students still following him. He mentally berated himself for forgetting to dismiss them. "Gomen, I forgot to dismiss you guys."

The three Genin nodded, man they were tired and the three began to walk in different directions on the corner they were at.

"Goodbye Naruto-sensei," Himawari greeted waving as he began walking home.

Naruto smiled, "Goodbye Himawari."

Shiro just waved and walked off in the opposite direction. Hiroshi, however, wasn't so eager to leave. Naruto knew exactly what was bothering him.

"Still don't want to go home yet?" asked Naruto. Hiroshi shook his head. The whole mission in Takigakure had kept his mind completely off the death of his parents. Now that he was back in Konoha, the thought came rushing back like a flooding river. Naruto sighed, part of him didn't want Hiroshi to stay another night with him and the other part didn't want to leave the poor boy alone. Naruto cared about his students, but he felt as if Hiroshi can't always rely on him. Then the selfish reason came to the surface, being away from Sakura for over a week had killed him inside, he definately wanted, no, needed his alone time with her.

Hiroshi noticed the look of deep thought that was written on his sensei's face. _'I can't keep intruding._' He then sighed.

"Naruto-sensei, don't worry about me tonight, I'm a Shinobi now and I need to grow up. I'll return home," Hiroshi admitted and began walking down the street on his way back home.

Naruto sighed as he watched Hiroshi fade away in the distance. He felt guilty for letting the boy go. He wanted to run after him and allow him to stay one more night to help him but the boy's mature words kept echoing in his head

'_I'm a Shinobi now and I need to grow up._'

Naruto then smiled faintly, '_You grew up just a little now_.'

Naruto turned to the right and began walking down that street. Watching the stores lined up along the street getting their final rush of customers before closing time. He reached his apartment building a short time late. He climbed the stairs to the second floor of the building and reached his door. He unlocked it and went inside. He went straight for the shower, which he hadn't had in days, to wash all the dirt and grime of the mission. Fifteen minutes later he was out, getting ready for his date with his Sakura-chan. He put on a pair of black slacks and a nice black collard shirt. He smiled and headed out. Lucky for him Ichiraku's was a quick walk from his apartment as he was there in five minutes. He sat in his favorite spot at the counter as and older man wearing a white robe and a rectangular hat walked up to the counter.

"Ah, Naruto, haven't seen in over a week," he said.

"I was on a mission," Naruto replied.

"I see, so what can I get you for today?" Teuchi asked.

"Not yet, I'm waiting for Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

"Alright then, just let me know when you're ready," the old man said and walked back into the back. Naruto only waited for ten minutes until the girl he was waiting for entered the ramen stand. Naruto got up as the pink-haired woman put her arms around him giving him a massive hug. The two shared a quick but sweet kiss and sat down. Sakura sitting next to Naruto.

"I hope you were waiting too long," the woman spoke.

"Nah, I just got her not too long ago myself," Naruto replied. Teuchi then re-entered the front and noticed that Sakura had arrived.

"So what will it be?" Teuchi asked.

"The usual," Naruto said. The old man then looked over to Sakura.

"I'll just have what he's having tonight," she said with a smile. The old man nodded and turned around to begin making the orders. An awkward silence fell over both Naruto and Sakura. He didn't really know what to say. He was happy Sakura accepted the fact of what happened in Takigakure but he still felt guilty, still feeling like the pink-haired woman hated him a little.

* * *

"Alright, what's going on Ebisu?" asked Tsunade.

"Well when we were about to leave **Nami no Kuni**, we were ambushed by a few ninja," Ebisu began.

"From where?" cut in Tsunade.

"I don't know, they weren't wearing any forehead protectors. Even if they were, it happened so fast I probably wouldn't of been able to get a good luck. The man that was calling the shots was very powerful and I narrowly escaped with my life." Ebisu continued.

"And your team?" the interrogation from the Hokage continued.

"Well Moegi and Udon and myself were injured and escaped. I placed them both in the Infirmary before I came here," Ebisu continued, "As for Konohamaru, he was taken hostage."

"What!?" yelled Tsunade as she quickly got out of her chair. "How the hell did that happen!?"

"Like I said, Moegi, Udon and I narrowly escaped," Ebisu said. "I came back as quick as I could to report the situation so we can find a way to rescue Konohamaru."

"Yes, I will gather up a team quickly and send them out immediately," Tsunade said, sitting back down in her chair.

"It's also best to assume they'll hold him against us for a ransom," added Ebisu. "When we arrived, the leader of Nami no Kuni told me he heard rumors of a mysterious group of ninja trying to take over the country for their ports," Ebisu added.

Tsunade nodded, "We'll get Konohamaru back and find out what these ninja are up to. Now get yourself to the hospital and get yourself checked out."

Ebisu nodded and bowed and walked out of the office as Tsunade stood up once again.

"Shizune!" she called out.

Shizune walked back into Tsunade's office, "Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"Summon Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto at once," Tsunade said sternly.

"Hai," Shizune said and quickly exited Tsunade's office.

* * *

Two fresh bowls of Miso Pork Ramen were ready. Steam was coming off the bowls signaling just how fresh they were. One was placed in front of Naruto, who began to chow down on it while the other bowl was placed in front of Sakura. She too, began eating it.

"Naruto, are you okay?" she finally asked. Naruto didn't seem himself, he was quiet. Naruto stopped his assault on his ramen and turned his attention to the Kunoichi.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Naruto lied. He was still having doubts that Sakura didn't hate him for killing Sasuke.

"You don't seem like it, you're unusually quiet tonight," Sakura pointed out.

"I'm just really tired, this mission took a lot out of me," Naruto lied again. He hated lying to her but he felt he needed to.

"It's about Sasuke, isn't it?" she asked bluntly. This caught Naruto off guard. It was like she was peeking into his thoughts or something. He sighed.

"How can you not hate me?" Naruto asked. "I was supposed to bring him back so we can be a team again and then I..."

He was caught off when her lips crashed into his. He was having doubts still so she was going to destroy them as quick as they had come. She didn't care about their former teammate anymore. She realized he was never going to be the same. He was never coming back. What she did care about now was Naruto. He was her life, her world and she wasn't going to let anything tear that down for her nor Naruto. Naruto deserved happiness and she was going to give it to him.

"Naruto-kun, I love you with all my heart," she began. "I gave up on Sasuke a while back, he was a lost cause. I accepted the fact the Sasuke we knew had died and that Sasuke was someone different. So don't think you failed me or yourself. You did what you had to do."

Naruto smiled. That speech made him feel so much better. All the doubts that were trying to wage war in his mind were gone. He then hugged her.

"I love you with all my heart too, Sakura-chan."

Before anything else could be said or done between the two. Someone walked into the ramen stand. It was a man with wild silver-hair. He wore a mask over his mouth. It was Naruto and Sakura's sensei, Kakashi.

"Thought I find you here Naruto," he said. Naruto and Sakura looked behind them to find Kakashi there.

"Kakashi-sensei," the couple said in unison.

"Sorry Sakura, but I need to borrow Naruto," the Jounin said.

"What? Why? Can't you see I'm busy here Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto asked upset.

"It's urgent, Tsunade-sama has called for us," Kakashi revealed.

Naruto was dumbfounded, "What the hell for!? I just talked to the old hag a couple of hours ago!"

"Naruto, don't make me drag you to the Hokage's office," Kakashi threatened.

Naruto sighed in defeat, "Fine." He then turned to Sakura. The sad look on her face nearly broke him into pieces. He lifted her face and kissed her lips. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I really am. I guess this is really important. I make it up to you later."

Sakura nodded, "It's okay Naruto-kun, I'm not going to hold this against you."

"I love you," the blonde said.

"I love you too," the woman said back. Kakashi and Naruto then left Ichiraku's. Sakura stayed and she stared at the counter and sighed.

'_I knew getting teams would leave us little time to spend together,_' Sakura thought.

If old Genin self see what she was doing, that little girl would probably be thinking it was a nightmare. But ever since Sasuke left the village years ago and being around just Naruto after he returned from his training trip with Jiraiya. She then grew to like Naruto and liked the time they did spend together. Then the war against the Akatsuki broke out as all the Five Great Shinobi Villages came together to fight them off, then a strange turn of events allowed the rise of Kaguya as her, Naruto and Sasuke defeated her but after that battle is when she realized Sasuke was not the same person nor ever will be that person again when he knocked her out and apparently fought Naruto a second time. After it was all over, she realized that she had strong feelings for Naruto and the two began dating and now she was madly in love with him. Now with both of them Jounin and having their own teams, it was going to be real test for their relationship. If it was strong enough, this wouldn't affect it at all. She sighed again as she tried to hand Teuchi money, but he waved his hands showing Sakura that Naruto had paid for it all. She smiled and began to walk home.

* * *

Tsunade, in her office doing useless paperwork, was brought out of her work when Kakashi and Naruto entered her office, unannounced, but it was Naruto who just opened the door without knocking. However, Tsunade wasn't going to let it bother her this time around.

"I see Shizune found you two rather quickly," Tsunade said. Kakashi and Naruto nodded.

"So Tsunade-sama, what's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"We have a crisis on our hands," Tsunade answered.

"What kind of crisis?" asked Naruto.

"You were here earlier when Ebisu stumbled into my office, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well he and his team were ambushed by some unknown ninja. He along with Moegi and Udon managed to escape, however, they took Konohamaru most likely as a hostage and will possibly use him against us for a ransom. Ebisu said that the leader of Nami no Kuni he heard rumors of a group of ninja looking to take control of Nami no Kuni to use their ports for some unknown reason," Tsunade explained.

"What!? They've got Konohamaru!?" Naruo yelled.

"Easy there, you need to stay calm," Kakashi said to Naruto.

"Yes they do, so I'm sending you two along with your team Naruto, to find where they are keeping Konohamaru and rescue him, got it?" Tsunade said.

"Hai," the two Jounin said.

"Kakashi, you'll be in charge of this mission," Tsunade said. Kakashi nodded. "Good, you leave as soon as Naruto's team is gathered."

The two Jounin disappeared in a cloud of smoke. They reappared outside the Hokage Tower.

"I'm going to gather a few things and then I'll meet you at the gate," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded and Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto turned and ran to his apartment.

* * *

Naruto finished changing into his shinobi gear. He was now wearing his normal Jounin attire. He tied his forehead protector to his head. He then put on his shuriken pouch and kunai holster. He was ready. Now it was time to go collect his Genin. Naruto walked out his apartment and locked the door and took to the roofs.

His first stop was only a few miles down the road to the sector of the village where some of the richer ninja clans of the village lived. He came up to a brown house and knocked on the front door loudly. He heard the door locks unlatch and the door opened. Reveling the house contents was a half-sleeping brown haired boy.

"Ne, Naruto-sensei, what are you doing here?" the boy asked.

"Get ready Hiroshi, we have an emergency mission to go on," Naruto said.

"You're kidding right? We _just_ got back from a mission," Hiroshi replied.

"I wish I was kidding but I'm not, so hurry up and get ready," the blonde haired ninja said. "Did I mention it was a A-Class mission?"

That woke Hiroshi up, "A-Class!? But we're only Genin."

"It's alright, my sensei, Kakashi, is going with us." Naruto revealed. Hiroshi closed the door. A few minutes later, Hiroshi came out, dressed in his ninja attire which consited of a brown shirt with Konoha's insignia on it and brown shorts and brown opened-toe shoes. The two took to the rooftops and headed to Naruto's next stop. The reached a blue and white one-story house with a very well kept garden that went alongside the sidewalk leading from the street to the front door. Naruto knocked on the door. An older woman with short lavender hair. She was wearing a blue dress and wearing a white apron. The woman immediately recognized who it was.

"Oh, Naruto-san, what can I do for you?" the woman asked.

"Is Himawari awake?" Naruto asked.

"I believe she is, do you need her for something?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, Tsunade-baachan is sending me and my team along with Kakashi-sensei on an emergency mission," the blonde answered. The woman nodded and went back inside. It seemed like a long time had passed. Naruto was about to knock on the door again when Himawari came out dressed for the mission.

"Alright Naruto-sensei, I'm ready," she said smiling. She then greeted Hiroshi and the three of them left to get to their final location before they had to meet up with Kakashi at the main gate. They didn't have to travel very far. Naruto thanked God his students didn't live so far from each other and his own apartment. The reached a yellow and white house that was nearly hidden with the trees in the front near the street. Much to the Naruto's luck. Shiro was laying on the ground, still in his shinobi attire, gazing up at the stars which made Naruto smirk.

'_He's kind of like Shikamaru, only he gazes at stars, not clouds_.'

Naruto walked over and then leaned into Shiro's gaze which startled him greatly.

"Naruto-sensei?" he forced out, "What are you doing here?"

"Come on, we got an emergency A-Class mission we're going on," Naruto replied. "And no complaining."

Shiro didn't argue it, although he was kind of upset, they had just gotten back home from Takigakure only to have to leave again without much rest. With Naruto's team complete, they headed off to the main gate. They arrived and Naruto nearly had a heart attack when he saw Kakashi was there waiting at the gate and _**early**_. Although, Kakashi was still reading his book, even though he had been reading it over and over again for years now. Naruto sighed, somethings won't change.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei, we're all here and ready," Naruto said. He then looked at his students. "Alright guys, this is my sensei, Hatake Kakashi. He will be the Jounin in charge of this mission as well, so do what he says."

The Genin nodded and greeted Kakashi individually. The five-man team left the village and jumped into the trees to make their way to Nami no Kuni.

* * *

**Next Up: Chapter 10: Nami no Kuni**


	10. Nami no Kuni

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Nami no Kuni**

A dirty blonde-haired woman sat at her desk as she poured Sake into a small cup and then drank it. She had been doing this for the last couple of hours as stress began getting the best of her. First Naruto killing Sasuke in Takigakure was heavily on her mind. Especially when the ANBU returned to reveal some information. It was information she didn't want to share with him. It was also information she should of shared with him. Then there was the current crisis going on, Konohamaru being captured in Kami no Kuni. A group of unknown ninja were holding him hostage and for what? That was an answer she did not know. After the bridge to Hi no Kuni was completed, thanks to the help of Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, allowed that nation to thrive and eventually getting part of a sea trade as well. Then she decided to send another team as support.

"Shizune, I need you to gather Sakura and her team," the woman said killing the silence in the office.

The woman's voice startled Shizune a bit but she turned to the woman at the desk, "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Shizune quickly left the office. Tsunade sighed and poured herself another cup of Sake and she drank it down like it was water. Things had been so peaceful for a while and now it looks like shit was getting started up once again.

"The cycle just keeps going, doesn't it?" she asked the question to no one. Tsunade then yet poured another cup of Sake and took it in.

* * *

Tree leaves rustled in the light breee that was blowing. It was a quiet night. The only thing could be heard were thumps that echoed through the darkness. The thumps came from feet hitting tree branches that came from five Shinobi. Two where leading a group of three. The leader on the right looked back to find the other three they were leading were falling behind. He chuckled and turned to the leader on his left.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think the Genin need a break."

Kakashi looked back at the three following them and sighed, "I guess you're right."

Kakashi and the other man stopped. The Genin caught up and stopped as well.

"Naruto-sensei, why'd we stop?" asked the boy in the middle of the three children.

Naruto chuckled, "'Cause Hiroshi, the three of you look like you're about to faint."

"Am not!" Hiroshi yelled. The other boy standing to Hiroshi's left known as Shiro didn't say anything but sat down in the spot he was standing. The girl on Hiroshi's right known as Himawari was trying to catch her breath.

"I'm glad we stopped," she spoke. "I was getting tired."

Hiroshi sighed, he wanted to continue on but he was outnumbered. Kakashi moved to sit underneath a tree and pulled out a volume of Icha Icha Paradise. Even though the books beloved author died years ago, Kakashi couldn't help but continue to reread the copies he had over and over again. Naruto saw this and sighed.

'_He's still reading Ero-sennin's perverted crap?'_ Naruto was then broken out of his thoughts when all his Genin sat in front of him. He noticed they had that look in their eyes, a look that he hated because it only meant one thing: The bombardment of questions were soon coming.

"Naruto-sensei?" Hiroshi said the name in a questioning tone.

"Hai, Hiroshi?"

"Have you ever been to Nami no Kuni?" the boy asked.

"Hai," Naruto replied. He didn't feel like telling them the entire story of his first C-Ranked mission as a Genin. However, he knew they were going to keep asking question and get all of the information out of him. Naruto enjoyed his time with his students, but their curiousity was much to be desired. He wasn't to fond of talking about his past, he only looked to the future to continue making good memories.

"So what did you go there for?" asked Himawari.

Naruto sighed in defeat, there was no way of getting out of this story. He then looked to his Genin.

"It was a mission to protect a man who was building a bridge that connects Nami no Kuni to Hi no Kuni."

"That sounds cool," Hiroshi said.

Naruto chuckled, "Well I begged for something more than a lame D-Rank so it was a C-Ranked mission but when he headed out it turned out to be so much more."

"Then what happened?" asked Shiro who was now interested in the story.

Naruto didn't want to get into anymore details of the mission. He looked over to Kakashi, even though he was reading his novel, Naruto could tell Kakashi was listening as well. Maybe Kakashi would save him and answer for him but there was nothing but silence. Naruto knew then Kakashi wasn't going to answer for him. Naruto sighed in defeat again.

"Well it turned out the man we were protecting had Ninja coming after him. Kami no Kuni was a poor nation at the time, they couldn't afford anything above a C-Rank. That mission quickly turned into a B-Rank when two Chunin Missing-nin from Kirigakure attacked us."

"That sounds dangerous," Himawari said.

Kakashi smirked with his eyes, "If you think that was dangerous, the mission we are on is S-Rank, it's basically suicide."

That revelation scared the three Genin. Naruto turned to his sensei and glared at him with such intensity that if looks could kill, that would do it.

"Thanks for scaring them half to death, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi just gave Naruto his famous eye smile and went back to reading his book. Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes for a bit. Kakashi's little statement erased what Naruto was talking about to his Genin from his mind. Then the questions continued.

"So then what happened?" asked Hiroshi. Naruto opened his eyes. He now remembed what they were talking about. Naruto sighed knowing there was no way out of telling this story.

"Well after made it Kami no Kuni, we were attacked by a Jounin Missing-nin named Zabuza, which then turned the mission to A-Rank. "When Kakashi-sensei took on Zabuza the first time, me and Sasuke had to bale him out."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle when Kakashi hid the rest of his face inside his book but the mention of Sasuke dampered Naruto's mood.

"Naruto-sensei, are you okay?" asked Himawari when she noticed Naruto's mood changed. Naruto looked at the girl and smiled, shaking thoughts of killing Sasuke from his mind.

"Yes Himawari, I am fine," he answered. "Anyways, that's when Zabuza's partner came in. A kid named Haku. At first we thought he was a Hunter-nin from Kirigakure. However, a few days later, when we on the bridge, Zabuza attacked again and the Hunter-nin turned out to be his partner. Me and Sasuke took on Haku," Naruto continued and deciding to leave out the part where he stupidly entered Haku's **Makyou Hyoushou**.

"After a long fight, I thought Haku killed Sasuke. I got really angry about it and ended up breaking down Haku's **Makyou Hyoushou** and beating the shit out of him," Naruto finished.

"So what happened next?" asked Himawari.

"Me and Haku talked and in the end wanted me to kill him because he felt like he was no longer any use to Zabuza. I gave in and was going to but then he disappeared. After the mist that had been plaguing us disappeared, I saw Kakashi-sensei had his arm on Haku and he was bleeding from his chest. He jumped in the way to protect Zabuza. Zabuza died a little later on but he ended up helping us out by killing Gatou, the man he was working for and hired him to kill the bridge builder we were protecting," Naruto finished.

"Sounded like one heck of a mission," Shiro stated.

"It sure was, I won't ever forget it," Naruto said.

After Naruto's story, Kakashi closed his book and placed it back into his shuriken pouch and stood up. He stretched a bit and then turned to Naruto.

"You think the Genin have rested enough to continue?" the silver-haired Jounin asked.

Naruto turned to his Genin, "You guys ready?"

They all nodded and stood up. Naruto turned to Kakashi and gave his old sensei a thumbs up.

The five ninja then climbed into the trees and began their treck to Kami no Kuni again. They hoped to get to Nami no Kuni under the cover of darkness so they could infilitrated without being noticed by the Ninja that captured Konohamaru as well as stir up any unwanted attention that could eventually lead to the alert of those unknown NInja.

* * *

Thirty minutes had gone by since Tsunade send Shizune to summon Sakura and her team. She still wasn't sure why they would want Konohamaru. She still hadn't received any kind of message demanding anything for his safe return and it had been nearly a day since the attack on Ebisu's team. Before she could press the issue any further, a knock came to her office door.

"Come in," Tsunade shouted. The door opened, revealing Sakura and her three Genin.

"You wanted to see us, Tsunade-shishou?" the pink-haired Jounin asked.

"I'm sending you and your team to support Kakashi and Naruto's squad," Tsunade answered. "Once they find Konohamaru, he may be injured and need medical attention. When you arrive, just help search for Konohamaru, do not engage the enemy, leave that to Kakashi and Naruto."

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou, when do we leave?" Sakura asked.

"Immediately," Tsuande responded. Sakura took her bow and she, along with her Genin, left the Hokage's office.

'_It's been a while since Naruto and I have been on the same mission, I can't wait to see the look on his face when I arrive,_' she thought as she giggled. Her students looked up at her with confusion.

Sakura just smiled and they headed towards Konoha's gate.

* * *

A thick mist rolled in not long after Kakashi and Naruto's team left their resting spot. It was a sign they were getting close to the bridge. Most times a mist would of hinder their plans, but needing to infiltrate Nami no Kuni without being spotted, the mist couldn't come in at a better time. It would hide their movements of crossing the bridge into Nami no Kuni. After a short time passed, the tree line ended and they came across a massive bridge. The five ninja stopped right in front of it.

"Wow, that's a huge bridge!" Hiroshi practically shouted. Naruto looked Hiroshi into his eyes that had a look of 'shut up' in them. Hiroshi covered his mouth in embarrassment.

Himawari walked closer to the bridge and looked up at a sign and read it out loud.

"_The Great Naruto Bridge_,"

Hiroshi and Shiro looked up at Naruto in shock. Naruto just scratched the back of his head.

"They named the bridge after me?" asked Naruto out loud.

"Well you were inspirational to these people," Kakashi answered. Naruto, however, took Kakashi's answer as somewhat sarcastic.

"Is Naruto-sensei really that great?" asked Shiro. Naruto glared at Shiro.

"He has a unique ability and I've yet to full understand it. He can make friends with a stranger in an instant and completely changer their negative outlook on life into something extremely positive," Kakashi said with praise.

Naruto chuckled, "It's just part of my Nindou."

"Well let's get across the bridge before the mist lifts, we're supposed to meet up with the village's councilman before we search for Konohamaru," Kakashi said.

The five ninja quietly made their away across The Great Naruto Bridge under the cover of darkness and the mist. The Genin were impressed the bridge of this size existed. Kakashi led the group with Naruto to the side of Kakashi and Naruto's Genin following Naruto. At the halfway point, a figure in the mist began to reveal itself. Kakashi signaled for the group to stop just in case they were already found out by the ninja lurking in the area. Kakashi continued to inspect, when he got closer, it was a young man wearing a suit and tie.

"You must be that team from Konohagakure here to free your comrad, correct?" the man in the suit said.

"Are you the councilman for Nami no Kuni?" asked Kakashi.

The man nodded and motioned Kakashi to follow him. Kakashi signaled the rest of the team to follow. They decended down stairs that were on a bridge pillar. The entered a small utility room that was well lit. The five ninja entered the well-lit room. Inside that room is when the man in the suit recognized Kakashi.

"Ka-Kakashi-san?" the man questioned. Kakashi was taken back by the fact the man knew his name.

"How do you know my name?" Kakashi questioned.

"You don't remember me?" the man asked, "It's me, Inari."

Kakashi's eyes widened by that revelation. "My, my, how you've grown. I didn't recognize you at all."

"Inari!? You got to be kidding me!" yelled Naruto who stepped from behind Kakashi. Inari turned his attention to the loudmouth blonde and his eyes widened when he recognized the blonde.

"Naruto? Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me!" yelled Naruto giving the young man a thumbs up.

"You know him, Naruto-sensei?" asked Himawari.

"Yeah, he's the grandson of Tazuna, that bridge builder that we had to protect when I came here when I was a Genin," Naruto answered. That triggered Naruto's memory as well.

"How is the old man anyway?" he aksed Inari. Inari's face fell as he looked the ground.

"My grandfather died a couple of years ago from an incurable illness," Inari replied. Naruto's face fell.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said sadly.

"Don't be, you didn't know," Inari replied reassuring his friend.

"So you're the councilman now?" asked Kakashi.

Inari nodded. "After Gatou was defeated, the villagers chose my grandfather as councilman to lead the village. With that bridge, our home began to prosper and eventually we got our share in the sea trade. When he died a couple of years ago, the village voted me to take over as councilman and now I have this crisis on my hand."

"What's this crisis?" asked Naruto.

"A few months ago, I had a man come and asked to rent our ports for a year. He said he would pay the village handsomely for it. I told him no because that port is for our sea trading. I believe he's returned with a couple others and trying to just take contorl of Nami no Kuni. From what I've found out by the villagers is there going to kill Konohamaru and frame the village in hopes that Konohagakure would retaliate and intiate military takeover of the village and then offer to buy use of the port off of Konohagakure," Inari replied.

"Now why would they think that would work?" asked Kakashi.

"I don't know, but thats the rumors I've heard," Inari answered.

Kakashi sighed, "Well we have no time to lose then, do you have any clues to where they might be holding Konohamaru?"

"After they attacked Ebisu-san, they killed the secruity team at the Port, they're probably holding him in one of the warehouses there," replied Inari.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" yelled Naruto. Kakashi and Inari nodded and they left the utility room. They knew a fight was about to begin.

* * *

Sakura and her Genin moved through the trees of Konoha Forest.

'_Hold on Naruto just a little bit, I'm coming to help. Don't do anything stupid!_' she thought. She couldn't wait to see her love and help him any way she could.

* * *

**Next: Chapter 11: First Battle**

**Japanese Translations:**  
**Nami No Kuni: **Land of Waves  
**Makyou Hyoushou: **Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals


	11. First Battle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Sorry for the long absense, life got in the way again, but here is the next chapter  
**

* * *

**Chapter 11: First Battle**

Dim moonlight filtered through large pane windows that connected the large warehouse walls to the ceiling. Empty crates were scattered and stacked on the warehouse floor. A room in the back of the warehouse held a man tied to a chair as his head was hanging down. The man had scratches across his face and there were bruises on his arms. His clothes were dirty, torn and stained with blood. He looked to have been beaten. Now the man began to move around as he groaned. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Then he winced in pain as a massive headache hit him. He groaned again.

'_I feel like my head has been beaten in by a brick,_' he thought. He moved again and realized he was tied to a chair.

'_What the hell? Where am I?_' he questioned. He thought hard and remembered, '_Now I remember._'

**FLASHBACK**

_"So the trade is set then?" asked Ebisu._

_"Yes, I believe so," answered a young man in a black suit._

_Ebisu and the young man were standing in a small office. The young man in the black suit was behind a desk while Ebisu stood on the opposite side and shook hands with the young man. A stack of papers signed by Ebisu were on the desk in front of the young man._

_"Alright then Inari-san, thank you for your time," Ebisu said._

_"No need to call me Inari-san, Ebisu-san. I should be the one to thank you and if this agreement works like it should, both our nations will be happy," said Inari._

_"Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, we're off,"_ _Ebisu called out to his team and the four exited the office._

_The four Konoha-nin left the building in the middle of the town's buisness district and headed for the bridge. It was late morning and their meeting with Inari only had took a few hours to get the deal between Konoha and Nami done to each nation's liking. They approached the bridge to find an older male wearing a blue cloak and underneath the cloak was typical ninja attire. Behind him were two more ninja wearing the same blue cloak. The older male approached Ebisu._

_Ebisu signaled his team to stop, "I think we're about to get into some trouble."_

_The man stopped and stared at Ebisu. Ebisu then realized just who the man was._

_"Kami, what the hell are you doing here?" Ebisu asked, his tone was angry and cold._

_The man laughed, "I'm here to take you hostage."_

_Ebisu laughed back, "Now why would you want to do that?"_

_"It's really none of your buisness," the man replied. "Just come with me and no one will get hurt."_

_While watching the exchange of words between Ebisu and Nami, Moegi turned around to see another ninja in a blue cloak approach Konohamaru from behind._

_"Konohamaru, watch out!" Moegi yelled out._

**END OF FLASHBACK**

It was the last thing Konohamaru remembered about that day. Now he is in a darkened room in some unknown place tied to a chair. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heared two people inside the warehouse talking. He could tell one of them was the one that had was talking to Ebisu before he was knocked out. The other voice he knew was a child's.

"What is it Sumi?" Konohamaru heard the older man ask.

"Konoha ninja are here," the boy answered.

"That's good, then they're here to seize control of Nami no Kuni," said the older man.

"No, there's only five of them," said the boy.

"Well Sumi, Konoha is a very strong ninja village. It is very possible they only need five to seize this pathetic nation," replied the man.

"Well I spied on Inari-san like you wanted me, he told his council about what has happened with the one we have hostage in the office, and yesterday I heard him telling them that Konoha ninja were going to be here tonight to rescue that hostage. They know about our plans," said the boy.

"Shit," the older man said. "Well Sumi, go ahead and hold them off. I'll have to get more of us."

Konohamaru then could here footsteps that went away from the office and became faint.

_'So they did come for me.'_

* * *

Six figures walked the bridge quietly without wanting to be noticed. Five were ninja while one was wearing a black suit. The five were from Konohagakure while the man in the black suit was the leader of the very nation the Konoha-nin were in, Nami no Kuni. They did not want to get whoever had taken Konohamaru hostage aware of their presence just yet. When they reached the end of the bridge where the village was and stood a child. His short black hair waved a bit in the night sea breeze. His eyes were a light shade of grey and he was wearing a blue shirt and black pants.

"I'm sorry but I cannot let you pass," the boy said. Inari recognized who the boy was and believed it to be a prank.

"Sumi, cut it out. We have no time for pranks right now," Inari said.

Sumi just laughed, "I spied for him."

"What?" Inari asked in confusion.

"I work for the very man who took that Shinobi these Konoha ninja want to rescue hostage," replied the boy.

Inari's eyes widened. He didn't want to believe the kid at first until he put on the same blue cloak that the Missing-nin that were roaming around had on.

"Why?" Inari asked, stunned.

"I was always with him. I was an orphan and he found me and took me in. You should have known. You a pretty smart, so you should have known," Sumi said.

"Why you little bastard!" yelled Inari.

"Didn't you find it strange that I appeared right after that incident? Surely I couldn't have been here all my life without you noticing me once. This village is small and if you didn't figure it out, then you are pathetic," Sumi explained.

"That does it!" Hiroshi yelled, "I'm going to take on this kid!"

Naruto looked down to the fired up Genin. "I don't think you're quite ready yet."

"Bullshit!" Hiroshi yelled. "I am ready Naruto-sensei, let me handle him so that the rest of you can go find Konohamaru-san!"

Naruto sighed, he knew he wasn't going to win this argument, "Fine, but you better escape and go into hiding if you can't defeat him."

"Don't worry about me sensei, I'll beat him," Hiroshi said in confidence, trying to assure his sensei. The other four ninja along with Inari headed into the village to get to the docks when Sumi turned to stop them all when he felt he was being held down.

"I don't think so dipshit, your opponent is me," Hiroshi said. Sumi turned to him.

"Very well, it will be a pleasure to kill a ninja from the great Konohagakure," Sumi said and then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'_So it was a bunshin the whole time. Just wonderful,'_ Hiroshi thought as he looked around. Suddenly he sensed something was flying his way and performed a summersault jump backwards to dodge whatever projectile was thrown at him. Four kunai hit the ground where Hiroshi was standing just moments ago. It led Hiroshi to where Sumi's location was. The boy was on top of the bridge pillar. Hiroshi quickly pulled out a few shuriken from his holster and threw them at Sumi. Sumi easily dodged them and jumped down to land a fist on top of Hiroshi's head. He fell to the ground.

"You can't beat me," Sumi said. "You're just a Genin."

"Yeah, well news flash, we're the same age, so we have about the same amount of Chakra," replied Hiroshi.

"That maybe so, but you will still lose," Sumi said.

Hiroshi took the advantage. While the kid was talking away, Hiroshi sweep kicked Sumi off his feet. Sumi hit the ground hard. Hiroshi grabbed him, he pumped some Chakra into his right fist and then punched Sumi in the face. The force of the Chakra punch sent Sumi flying backwards through the air. Hiroshi quickly performed hand seals and disappeared. Sumi got back up only to find Hiroshi had disappeared.

"Where the hell did he go?" Sumi asked himself while he looked around the area. He then heard a voice from what sounded like it was coming from the ground.

"Right where you least expect me," the voice said and two hands came out of the ground, grabbing Sumi's ankles.

"What the hell?!" Sumi yelled in disbelief.

"**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!**" yelled Hiroshi as he pulled Sumi underground just enough to where Sumi's head was sticking out of the ground. Hiroshi walked toward Sumi and stared at him with an evil glare with a hint of victory.

"My father taught me a few of our family's Doton jutsu's before he went on a mission and ended up dying by the very man you serve, that was one of them," Hiroshi said as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch. "Now you die."

Hiroshi then took the kunai he had grabbed and forced it into Sumi's head. Hiroshi prepared himself for the blood that was going to come leaking out of the hole he just made in Sumi's head but then nothing came out and then Sumi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Son of a bitch, how did he manage to use that jutsu while stuck in the ground?" Hiroshi questioned.

"When you disappeared, I made a Kage Bunshin and went into hiding myself and waited," Sumi said from behind Hiroshi. Hiroshi quickly turned around.

"It's fun toying with you." Sumi said but Hiroshi began laughing. That laughter struck a nerve with Sumi.

"Now we'll see who will be the one laughing after this one." Sumi said and began performing hand seals and quickly. They were far more than what Hiroshi had to perform as well. "**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!**"

The ground began to shake and out of the ocean came out a huge dragon made of water. Hiroshi stared at it.

"What the hell is that!?" Hiroshi yelled. He was now scared. The dragon made of water charged at Hiroshi. Hiroshi's eyes widened and was frozen in fear. The water hit its target dead on. The water carried Hiroshi and slammed him into the metal structure at the end of the bridge. Hiroshi struggled and he couldn't get up right away. The force of the impact knocked the strength completely out of his body. He looked up at Sumi and smirked.

"I see that shut you up," Sumi said. "It's time to finish this little game of ours."

Sumi began to perform hand seals again. Hiroshi watched, this time he was prepared for whatever was going to come at him.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**" yelled Sumi. Water from the ocean rose again and then started to spin like a vortex. It quickly headed straight for Hiroshi. Hiroshi performed a couple of hand seals just in time as the water vortex crashed into the metal structure. The force of the attack caused it to break at the base and fall over crashing into a couple of buildings nearby. The water quickly receded and Sumi's smirk that was on his face was quickly erased when he saw that where Hiroshi was sitting was just a log.

"Damn it, he used the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**," Sumi said to himself.

"**Doton: Doryudan,**" Hiroshi whispered. The ground began to shake as a large head shaped like a dragon rose out of the ground. Sumi's last water jutsu had created a mist so he did not see what made the ground shake so violently. Then it was too late as Sumi saw round spheres of earth come out of the mist. They all hit Sumi with strong force. Sumi hit the ground and slid a few feet. He didn't try to get back up. Hiroshi then walked over to Sumi and stood over him. Hiroshi could see the bruises forming where the earth projectiles hit the boy and he knew Sumi was injured beyond the point of being able to continue fighting. Hiroshi wanted to make sure Sumi was finished so he grabbed Sumi by the collar of his shirt. Sumi could barely open his eyes because of the pain he was in.

"See what happenes when you underestimate people just by the appearence?" Hiroshi questioned, breathing hard.

Hiroshi then gathered chakra into his right fist and punched Sumi in the stomach. The pain was so intense, it made Sumi black out. Hiroshi let Sumi fall to the ground. He gathered chakra into his legs and ran off hoping to catch up to the others quickly.

Inari stopped in his tracks and pointed to two rows of warehouses and a dock at the end.

"We are here," he said. "These are the warehouses of our West Dock."

"Which one is Konohamaru in?" asked Naruto.

Inari sighed, "I don't know."

Naruto got angry and hit Inari in the back of the head, just like an older brother hitting his younger brother, "What the hell do you mean you don't know?"

Inari rubbed the back of his head where Naruto had hit him and then spoke, "I just know they're keeping the hostage here."

Kakashi thought it was time to step in before Naruto started beating Inari to a pulp, "Well I guess we better split up and look through all these warehouses until we find Konohamaru."

Naruto stopped his temper tantrum and signaled his team to split up. Inari watched as the Konoha-nin went their seperate ways to search for Konohamaru.

"I hope you find your comrade," Inari said quietly.

* * *

"I have to catch up!" Hiroshi yelled as he ran through the village, every turn led him no where. He simply couldn't find warehouses or a place called the West Dock. Hiroshi turned down another road to find someone he wasn't expecting to see. Sumi, standing there.

"How?" Hiroshi asked as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"We have a Medical-nin within our ranks, that's how," Sumi replied. "Now prepare for your death."

Sumi began performing hand seals, but before he could finish a kunai flying out of no where hit Sumi in the hand stopping whatever jutsu he was fixing to cast. Sumi yelled in pain and held the hand the kunai had punctured.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, but before he could get an answer, his vision turned black. He had been knocked out from behind.

Hiroshi just looked on and noticed someone he recognized, "It's you."

* * *

**Next: Chapter 12: Searching**

**Japanese Translations:**  
**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu:** Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique  
**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu:** Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique  
**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu:** Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique  
**Kawarimi no Jutsu:** Body Replacement Technique  
**Doton: Doryudan:** Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet


	12. Searching

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**WARNING: This chapter is pretty much filler to set Naruto and Sakura's team up to their battles against these unknown ninja.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Searching**

The usual sea breeze that blows through Nami no Kuni was absent. Dead silence. No sound penetrated the chilled air surrounding the small island nation. The once dirt poor nation was now thriving after Tazuna's bridge connected the island to the main land of Hi no Kuni. That very silence was about to end as ninja from Konohagakure began searching through the warehouses of the West Dock. The ones closer to the village seemed to be abandoned or in a state of being remodeled. The ones closer to the ocean seemed to be in full use. The four Konoha-nin looked around, there had to be at least fifteen warehouses in the docks alone. A lazy sigh came from the team's eldest member.

"Alright, we do what I just said earlier, let's split up and search each warehouse," the man with the silver hair said.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," replied a blonde-haired man.

"Okay Naruto, I will go to that one at the end of the dock, the rest of you start searching these ones here," Kakashi said pointing at the warehouses closes to the group.

"Hai," Naruto replied. Kakashi then began heading down the dock.

Shiro and Himawari, who were standing behind Naruto, looked up at their sensei. They were a little confused, they did not quite know what they were expected to do.

"Uh, Naruto-sensei?" spoke up Himawari.

"Let me guess, you want to know what to do?" asked Naruto.

"Hai," the two Genin replied.

Naruto sighed, "It's just like what Kakashi-sensei said, we split up and each take a warehouse and search through it to see if we can find Konohamaru."

"Hai," the two Genin replied again, but before they could take off, they were stopped by Naruto's voice again.

"Wait!" he called out. "Before you run off, if you run into anyone wearing a blue cloak, I want you to run, you will not win the fight."

"But you left Hiroshi-kun to fight that kid," said Himawari.

"Yeah, but he is the same age as you guys, he's able to take him on," answered Naruto. "Anyone else we run into will be mine or Kakashi-sensei's age or older."

"We'll be careful, Naruto-sensei," assured Shiro. The two Genin then walked off each heading for a warehouse nearby.

Naruto then looked at the first one near him, '_I guess I'll check out this one first._'

* * *

Heavy breathing, it stung the silent night. Feet hitting the ground as a boy ran as fast as he could. Behind him, four others that had shown up to the coming fight behind him. Although he didn't want to admit it, the boy was exhausted after the battle with Sumi. He used up a lot of chakra in that fight and he knew was going to have to get into a more serious fight, a fight to save Konohamaru. Honestly, he did not know Konohamaru all that well. All he knew was one of two only remaining members of the Sarutobi clan and that he was the grandson of the late Sandaime Hokage. Konohamaru, however, was a Shinobi of Konohagakure and he was going to help rescue him in any way he could. Suddenly, he hit something. He realized it was a person.

"Gomen, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," the boy said.

"Oh Hiroshi-san, it's alright," the man in a black suit said.

Hiroshi realized who it was by the voice and looked up to see he was correct, "Inari-san!"

"I assume you beat that other child?" asked Inari.

"Yeah well sort of, I thought I did, then he found me in the village, until Sakura-sensei here helped me contain him for good," Hiroshi said pointing to the Konoha-nin behind him. Standing behind him was Sakura and her team, Ankoku, Aki and Shinji.

"Wait a second, you're Inari?" asked Sakura. Inari looked at the woman and recognized her.

"Sakura-san? Naruto's teammate, right?" asked Inari.

"Yeah," the pink-haired kuniochi answered.

"But to answer your question, yes, it's me, Inari," Inari said. "But may I ask what you are doing here?"

"Tsunade-sama sent us to back up Kakashi-sensei and Naruto-kun," replied Sakura. "Happen to know where they are?"

"Yeah, I just showed them the West Dock were I believe they're holding your comrade hostage," answered Inari. "Come, I'll take you over there."

"Thank you very much," Sakura said with a smile. Inari motioned them to come and everyone followed Inari to the West Dock.

* * *

Naruto found himself at the front door of the warehouse he went to investigate. He tried to get in and found the door was locked. Naruto looked around to see if he can find a way to pry the doors open. In a different senario, he would of just used his Rasengan to bust through the doors, but he wanted to remain quiet as long as he could in hopes of finding Konohamaru without incident. Naruto looked for another alternative but he could not find anything. He had no choice but to use his Rasengan to get in. Naruto created a Kage Bunshin and his replication began forming the ball of chakra into Naruto's hand. When it was ready, he aimed for the door.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled and slammed the spiraling ball of chakra into the door, breaking them down. The echo inside the warehouse was loud.

"So much for being quiet," Naruto sighed. He walked inside the warehouse and it was pitch black. Naruto scrambled around the walls near the door for some sort of light switch. He found what felt like a button and pressed it and fortunately, it was the light switch and the lights hanging from the ceiling came on. The warehouse was full of crates and metal siding. It appeared the warehouse was indeed being remodeled.

"Damn, this place is fucking huge," Naruto said to himself. Deep down he really didn't want to search this whole warehouse since it was so big, but if he was going to find Konohamaru, he was going to have to.

Naruto walked through further into the warehouse. He looked around to see if there were any signs people had just recently been inside or any evidence of someone being held hostage. After searching the main floor, he found an office in the back of the warehouse. Naruto reached for the door knob and turned it. Unfortunately, that was locked too. Naruto sighed, but he kicked in the door. Inside the office was a three large file cabinets on the left side of the office. There was a bookshelf on the right side of the office and a desk right in the middle with paper scattered across it. There was also a container with a couple of pens and pencils on the desk as well. There was nobody being held here, it was just a normal office. Naruto sighed and walked out the office, he was about to close the door when he realized he kicked it in. He walked a few feet back into the warehouse when he suddenly heard footsteps from the front of the warehouse. He ducked behind a tower of crates.

'_Son of a bitch, what's going on now?_' Naruto thought as he waited. Sure enough more footsteps echoed through the warehouse. He knew they were not any of his team nor Kakashi's, it was someone else's, someone he was going to have to fight to get out. Naruto then concealed his chakra in hopes that whoever was in there with him would just walk back out. The footsteps stopped and the silence began choking Naruto until the person that was inside the warehouse spoke.

"I know you're in here, ninja from Konoha," the male voice said.

"What of it?!" Naruto yelled from where he was hiding.

"Come out and fight me," said the man. "Come out and fight me you hiding coward."

"Ok," Naruto said from behind the man and slammed his foot across the back of his head, knocking him out.

Naruto then stood over the man who was face first on the floor wearing a blue cloak with a symbol of a tornado on the back, "So much for the fight, it was really short."

Naruto then ran out of the warehouse. He grabbed the door he busted off and chained it to the other that wasn't damaged.

* * *

Naruto ran out to the road and was about to run towards the warehouse Kakashi had went to go investigate to let him know of the situation when he heard a familiar voice.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled Hiroshi from the West Dock entrance.

"Hiroshi, you're back and in once piece too," Naruto joked.

"Of course!" Hiroshi said, taking offense to Naruto's joke. "I told you not to worry."

"Well since you're here, go ahead and start looking through these warehouses," Naruto said. "One of them has Konohamaru with him. I'm also going to find Kakashi and tell him the Missing-nin are starting to show themselves in here."

"Wait, there is more," Hiroshi said. "Tsunade-sama sent reinforcements."

"Huh?" Naruto said confused, but his words began to jumble up when he saw his Sakura-chan and her team come out of the shadows.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out, "What are you doing here?"

"Like Hiroshi said, Tsunade-sama sent us for back up," Sakura replied. "What do you want us to do?"

"You can come with me to let Kakashi-sensei know that the Missing-nin are showing themselves here and your students can split up and help Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro," replied Naruto.

"Ok," Sakura replied with a smile. She then turned to her team, "Alright, Ankoku, go with Hiroshi, Aki find Himawari and Shinji go help Shiro, understood?"

"Hai," the three Genin replied in unison and split up, with Ankoku following Hiroshi.

Once the Genin were out of sight, Sakura and Naruto embraced each other.

"I really missed you," Sakura said.

"I missed you too," Naruto replied. The two shared a quick kiss and headed off to find Kakashi. 

* * *

Himawari stood staring at the chain wrapped around the door handles with the pad lock keeping them locked in place. She didn't know what to do. How could she get inside to search the warehouse if the damn door was locked? Oh how this missions was beginning to suck. Her luck, however changed when she touched the look and realized it was dummy locked.

"I should of checked that sooner than standing her wining to myself," Himawari said to herself as she removed the look and the chains that were wrapped around the door handles. She slid the door open just enough for her to get inside when she realized the warehouse was pitch black and she couldn't even see her own hands right in front of her face.

"It's scary in here," she confessed. Himawari pattered herself until she found her kunai pouch and took out a match. She struck the match and it lit up. She saw a switch near the door and pressed it. The lights hanging from the ceiling came on revealing the warehouse had broken and empty crates scattered across the warehouse floor. She looked at a catwalk on a second floor and noticed and office.

"I guess if I was going to hold someone hostage, I'd keep them locked up in that office," Himawari said to herself. She walked to the stairs that led to the catwalk and began walking toward the office. When she reached the office, she checked the door to see if it was locked which it was.

"Another locked door, just wonderful," Himawari complained. She walked up to the window next to the locked door and peeked inside. The plan failed as the office itself was dark. She knocked on the door and waited to see if anyone called out for help inside. Silence, all she got was silence. No one was inside this warehouse. Himawari turned and began walking back to the stairs to leave the warehouse. About halfway to the stairs, Himawari noticed someone walking into the warehouse. She saw that it was a woman with medium length orange hair and was wearing a blue cloak. Himawari tried her best to blend in with the catwalk and make no noise at all, hoping the woman wouldn't look up and just leave. However, her hopes fell on deaf ears as the woman looked up at the catwalk and saw Himawari trying to hide on the catwalk.

"Well, well," the woman began, "Looks like I found one of you Konoha ninja."

Himawari was starting to panic, she hadn't been in a real fight yet, and now she was about to be in one. '_I guess I have no choice but to fight my way out of here._'

"Come down here little girl and face me," the woman said smirking evilly. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick so you don't feel a thing."

* * *

Hiroshi and is new partner Ankoku reached the warehouse where they were going to search. Having the same luck as Naruto and Himawari, the warehouse was locked as well. Hiroshi signaled Ankoku to follow him and the two Genin started walking around the outside of the warehouse. Hiroshi noticed there was a hole in the warehouse's structure. It was big enough for the Genin to fit through. They both went through the hole and ended up inside the facility. He wondered how the hole got there in the first place, but shrugged it off. However, Hiroshi did find it strange the lights were already on but he put that in the back of his mind as well since his main goal was to try and locate Konohamaru. The two Genin began looking around the warehouse and it was confusing them because of the rows of crates turned the warehouse into a maze as pathways would lead to dead ends. Hiroshi continued his way around until he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He looked in the direction to see a man with dirty blonde hair wearing a blue cloak, behind him was a tower of crates.

"I see I found my opponent," the man said, void of emoton.

"How did you get in here?" asked Hiroshi.

"It was quite simple, I just forced myself in," the man replied.

That's when realization hit Hiroshi. The hole he and Ankoku found in the frame was made by this man standing in front of him. He had been waiting for anyone to come inside the warehouse.

"I guess I'm going to have to fight you then," Hiroshi said, getting ready to attack or defend.

"You're a little fiesty, aren't we?" questioned the man.

However, a few feed away. Ankoku had heard the man speak and came near Hiroshi. He hid behind crates and watched what was about to unfold.

'_I'll let Hiroshi distract him and then i'll come in when that dude least expects it and strike._'

* * *

Shiro stood outside the warehouse we walked to for quite a bit now. He watched as Himawari find her way into the one next to him. Then he watched Naruto along with the pink-haired kuniochi that his sensei is always kissing on. He sighed as he stared back at the door that was chained closed. Then he was a bit startled when Shinji came up to him.

"Yo," said Shinji, "having a hard time getting in?"

"Yep, the door is locked with a chain and padlock," replied Shiro.

"Let's check in the back, maybe there's another door or something," suggested Shinji. Shiro nodded and the two Genin walked around to the back of the warehouse. They came to a door and both were surprised it was unlocked and the walked in to find themselves in an office. The office was empty accept for a desk and some file cabinets. The two Genin headed for the door of the office that led into the warehouse. The warehouse was completely empty, but Shiro found it strange the lights were on. Shiro and Shinji walked to the middle of the warehouse to see if there was any other offices or rooms, but found nothing. The two turned to head back to the office they entered from when they heard the office door open. Coming out of the office was a man with black hair with red bangs wearing a blue cloak.

"Well look at this, I get to have some fun after all," the man said.

"Who are you?" asked Shiro, not scared of how crazy the man sounded. Shinji, however, was scared.

"All you punks need to know is that I'm your opponent," replied the man. Shiro could see the twisted smile on the mans face.

'_This is bad, this guy seems out of his mind,_' Shiro thought and looked to see Shinji was frozen in fear. '_Shit, I'm going to get no help from this kid._'

Shiro readied himself for battle. He was on his own because he knew Shinji wasn't going to be any help.

* * *

**Next: Chapter 13: Last Of A Clan**


	13. Last of a Clan

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**WARNING: Another filler chapter setting up Kakashi.**

**[Search For Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Last of a Clan**

A man with silver hair wearing the usual Konoha Jounin attire was standing right in front of the warehouse at the end of the dock. It was the last one for him to check. The other two came up empty and hopefully this would be the one. If Konohamaru wasn't being held captive in this one, their lead to find him here was wrong and there would be no telling where Konohamaru was being held captive in Nami no Kuni. He was about to enter the warehouse when a familiar loud voice echoed through the air.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi turned around to find Naruto and Sakura running toward him. He was a little shocked to see Sakura here with him. Then he sighed for the fact Naruto wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing.

"Sakura, I am surprised to see you," the Jounin said.

"Tsunade-sama sent me and my team to assist you and Naruto," Sakura replied.

"And what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

"This is a trap, this is all a trap," Naruto replied. "Whoever these people are, they knew we were coming here all along and are ready for a fight."

Kakashi sighed, he knew it was all too quiet here to have not been noticed. He originally did not want to get involved with useless fights.

"I should have known," Kakashi added.

"I managed to knock one out quickly who was trying to attack me, but I'm worried about Himawari, Shiro and Hiroshi," Naruto continued, "Even with Sakura's Genin with them, I don't know what will become of them,"

"Oh, so Hiroshi's back?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, he defeated that Sumi kid," replied Naruto.

"I'm sure they'll be okay. As young as they are, they seem very strong and I believe in their ability to hold their own, just like I believe in you two when you were younger," Kakashi said trying to ease Naruto's mind.

"Wait a second, Sumi said something about being a spy for whoever he was working for, didn't you?" asked Naruto.

"Yes he did," Kakashi answered. "That mean's they already knew we were coming before we even arrived, damn it."

"I really was hoping not to get involved in any confrontations until we found Konohamaru," said Naruto.

"So did I," Kakashi added. "It looks like that won't be the case."

"Should we bother checking this warehouse?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi answered not by words but his actions. He opened the door to the warehouse and the three Jounin walked inside.

* * *

Konohamaru stared at the ceiling. It had been an hour since he woke up and overheard his captors saying that Konoha ninja were in the area. He sighed thinking they knew he woke up and just said those things to mentally torture him. He wanted out of the chains that bind him the chair and get out of that place. He was sure he never wanted to see Nami no Kuni ever again. He moved slightly and winced in pain as the back of his head where he was hit was still throbbing. Konohamaru sighed again, he just wanted to go home and cursed himself for letting himself get into a situation like this.

'_I need to be more alert,_' he thought then he heard a knock on the door.

Konohamaru didn't answer the knock as he watched the door slowly open. A dark shadow entered the room and just stood in place. Althought Konohamaru couldn't see the actual person in the room with him, but he could feel he was being stared at by whomever entered the room. Then he heard an evil laugh that made him sick.

"Looks like they're finally here for you," the male voice said coming from the direction of the office door.

Konohamaru didn't reply but he was glad that what he had overheard when he woke up was true and not some sort of mental torture or cruel joke.

"But they'll never live long enough to find you," the male voice spoke again.

Konohamaru finally decided to speak up after hearing that last line, "They'll beat you all, especially if Naruto-niisan is with them!"

The man laughed at the remark. "Uzumaki Naruto, eh? The demon brat? He couldn't beat an academy student, he's weak."

Konohamaru was caught off guard with the man's comment. "H-how do you know Naruto-niisan?"

"It's none of your business," said the man. The room got quiet as Konohamaru heard footsteps. At first he thought they were getting closer but then he heard the door slam. The man had left the room and Konohamaru breathed a breath of relief.

"Who was that guy?"

* * *

"Well it looks like we found their base of operation," Kakashi said as he looked over papers on a desk.

"Yeah," Naruto replied as he looked over papers on the other side of the long desk with about ten chairs.

"These look like plans," Sakura added, she handed them over to Kakashi and he took them.

"Yeah, they are some sort of plans," Kakashi said as he glanced over them. "I'll give these to Tsunade-sama so she can look over them as soon as we return to the village."

Kakashi took out empty sealing scrolls from right pocked on his Jounin vest. He opened them up and set them on the desk, putting the documents Sakura found on top of the opened scroll. He performed a few hand seals and sealed the documents inside the scroll. He rolled up the scroll and placed it back in the pocket he had taken the scroll out from.

"You have no use for those," said and eerie and nearly demonic voice.

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi and looked up and around the warehouse but the didn't see anyone around. Where was that voice coming from? Both Naruto and Kakashi were thinking the same and got ready to do battle. Sakura stood behind to guard their backs.

"Look at the three of you," the voice called out again. "Getting ready for battle are we?"

The three Konoha Jounin continued looking around and couldn't find anyone there.

"You want to know something?" the voice called out once more, "I can smell the fear that you are giving off."

'_Who the hell is this person?_' Naruto thought. He had no idea who was talking or who he was up against. Just by the voice alone Naruto could tell he was strong.

Sakura looked up to the catwalk and noticed someone standing up there.

"Kakashi-sensei," she whispered. Kakashi turned an ear to Sakura. "He's up there."

The man backed up into the light, he had his face turned to the wall so all they could see was the blue cloak with the symbol of a tornado.

"That guy I knocked out earlier had that same cloak too," Naruto whispered to Kakashi.

"Hmm," was all Kakashi replied with as he stared at the man on the catwalk.

The man turned and revealed his face to the three Jounin. He removed his hood and his long red hair fell down. He then opened his eyes and he stared right at Kakashi and Naruto. Light then reflected off his eyes where Kakashi noticed they were tan. Naruto noticed as well.

"What the hell? Tan eyes?" questioned Naruto. He wasn't quite sure if he believed what he was seeing.

"No, this can't be," Kakashi said to himself, ignoring Naruto.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked. He had no idea what was going on now. Did Kakashi know this guy or something?

Kakashi didn't answer Naruto's questioned as he stared at the man like he saw a ghost. The man could see Kakashi didn't believe his eyes and he smirked evilly. The bloodlust in his eyes grew stronger every minute that went by. Naruto noticed the look in the man's eyes and for the first time in a long while, he was scared.

"The bloodlust in his eyes, it's so overwhelming," Naruto said, fear overtaking him. Sakura noticed this and put a hand on his shoulder in hopes of comforting her boyfriend a little, but it did nothing.

"I can see you can't believe I still exist," the man spoke to Kakashi then turned to Naruto and Sakura, "The blonde is scared shitless and the other is just a useless Kunoichi, how pitiful."

Naruto turned to Sakura and whispered, "Sakura-chan, please go check on our Genin, I don't want you near this guy."

"No, I'm going to stay right here and fight this guy like Team Seven," she whispered back. Naruto cupped her hands and brought them to his chest.

"Sakura-chan, please do this for me," Naruto pleaded. "If anything happens, at least I'll feel a little better knowing your safe."

Sakura was about to protest again, but Naruto's face told her to just do it.

"Please come back in one piece," Sakura whispered before leaving the warehouse.

Naruto turned his attention back to the man he and Kakashi were about to fight.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked, finally speaking up.

"Me?" the man answered the a question.

"Cut the shit, who the hell are you?" Kakashi asked again.

"You can call me Sho," replied the man.

"I don't believe that's your real name," Naruto added. 'Sho' turned his attention to the blonde.

"Well the little fuck that was giving off so much fear finally decided to say something," 'Sho' said, "But you're right. Sho is the name the organization gave me, my real name is Sunaarashi Akuma."

Kakashi's eyes widened. The last name he just heard wasn't one he hadn't heard of in a very long time. It couldn't be, this man was lying. However, the tan eyes proved it. This didn't make any sense to Kakashi.

"How can that be?!" yelled Kakashi. "The Sunaarashi clan was wiped out years ago!"

"That part is true," replied Akuma, "However, when Sunakagure went on a crusade to end our clan and attacked our compound, a young couple hid their child in the walls of their house before Suna-nin came in and murdered them. That child was me."

"What's this talk about Sunaarashi clan being wiped out?" Naruto questioned. He did not know what was being talked about.

Kakashi looked to Naruto, "Before the Sandaime Kazekage disappeared, he ordered an execution of the entire Sunaarashi clan because they were kidnapping Genin and using them to experiment with a powerful jutsu and were planing a Coupe d'etat once the jutsu was successful."

"You know your history don't you?" Akuma said impressed. "However, I was hid so I can carry out revenge for what Sunagakure did to my family. One day I will wipe out Sunagakure off the map. Until then, I must meet my obligations under _him_."

"And just who is that?" asked Naruto.

"No one you should be concerned about, you won't live long enough to ever see him," replied Akuma.

"If your ambition is to eventually destroy Sunagakure, it will my duty to stop you here," Kakashi said.

"Now why would you care what I do to Sunagakure?" asked Akuma. "Didn't those fools attack your village a few years ago, betraying the alliance between the two villages?"

"Yes they did, but under false guidence from our most notorious Missing-nin, Orochimaru," Kakashi replied. "After that, our alliance with Suna became stronger."

"The great Konoha and that stupid will of fire and it's willingness to forgive, it's all so pathetic," Akuma said.

Naruto saw it, it was a glimpse, but it was there. Although Akuma acted and looked evil, behind the evil in his eyes he saw the glimpse of the pain that he must of been suffering from deep inside. Loneliness, the feeling Naruto always felt that was hurting him deeply. It never failed, Naruto could always find that feeling in other people that were just like him. A person left out in the world to fend for themselves with no friends or family to help them along the way.

"I can see it in your eyes," Naruto began, "Even though you act evil and have no emotion of any kind I still can see it, the pain that's behind the evil."

Kakashi turned to Naruto wondering what he was going on about.

"What are you talking about fool!?" yelled Akuma.

"Don't deny it, even after all these years, you still feel like you're alone, don't you?" Naruto said who finally calmed himself down.

"What does it matter to you?" asked Akuma as the boy was reading him like a book.

"Because I know that feeling all to well," replied Naruto as he began remembering his childhood.

Akuma's facade broke, "You have no idea what it means to be alone!"

"I do," Naruto began, "I grew up without any parents. The whole village hated my very existance. They threw whatever they could find at me. They said horrible things to my face even telling me to die. They'd tell their kids not to have anything to do with me. It nearly killed me inside, but one day I was going to show them. I was going to show them all."

Kakashi knew Naruto had to grow up alone but he had no idea of the hardships he had to face when he was a kid.

"It took me twelve years to finally get someone to notice me as a person," Naruto continued and tears began to fall from his eyes. "Tell me now that I don't know what being alone is like."

Akuma didn't say anything and his eyes wondered to the floor. His resolve broke for a moment but something inside him brought him back to why he was there.

"You and me are the same," Akuma began. "However, I still work for _him_ and I'm going to do what I'm told and stop you from rescuing that ninja t all costs!"

"Nice try in breaking his resolve Naruto, but it looks like I'm going to have to fight this man," Kakashi said. "You go find Konohamaru, I'll take care of this guy on my own."

"Are you sure Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, now go!" Kakashi yelled.

Naruto nodded and ran towards the back of the warehouse for any signs of Konohamaru. Akuma noticed Naruto run off and tried to stop him. In an instant he was on the warehouse floor and was about to stop Naruto when Kakashi intercepted.

"I don't think so Akuma," Kakashi said. "Your opponent is me."

Akuma smirked, "Well then I'll be gladly kill you and after I do, maybe I can convince that blonde to join us."

Kakashi laughed, "He'd never join up with a group of dipshits like you."

Akuma smirked, "Well that's a shame, then I'll enjoy killing him too."

Kakashi grabbed a kunai out of his pouch and waited for Akuma's first move.

"The last of the clan dies today!" yelled Kakashi and the battle between the two was about to begin.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Chapter 14: Clash**


	14. Clash

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Clash**

Kakashi, standing his ground near the entrance to the warehouse, stared down Akuma who was just a few feet in front of him waiting for Akuma to make his first move. While the two were deadlocked in a staring contest, Naruto continued to search through the warehouse as he was heading to the back office to see if anyone was being held hostage inside. Naruto looked back again just to see the two ninja staring each other down still.

'_What the hell is Kakashi-sensei doing?_' thought Naruto but he turned back to the office and tried to pry the door open.

Kakashi kept waiting for Akuma's first move. Had he still had the Sharingan, this would have been a much easier task, but after losing it during the war, battling other ninja required a lot more analyzing than it used to.

'_I must be careful with this guy. Unlike Gaara who controlled sand from his gourd with the power of Shukaku, this guy's Kekkei Genkai allows him to just create sand out of anything,_' Kakashi thought.

"You know, this staring contest is getting kind of old, I need some excitement, don't you?" Akuma asked while an evil grin formed on his face.

"I think you might be right," Kakashi replied hoping that would get Akuma to make the first move. It worked. Akuma raised his hands into the air and sand began forming around him.

'_Shit,_' Kakashi reprimanded himself as the sand formed into a spiraling ball of sand. Akuma extended his arm out and the giant ball of sand changed into a giant ghoul-like head and was heading straight for Kakashi. Akuma pulled back his hand and the sand head opened its mouth and swallowed Kakashi. Akuma then watched the sand head turn back into a ball and crush Kakashi. Akuma allowed the sand to fall to the floor. Akuma was surprised to find all that was inside the sand was pieces of wood from the empty crates from inside the warehouse.

"What the... I was bested by a simple** Kawarimi no Jutsu**?" Akuma said then felt the cold steel of a kunai on his throat.

"Sometimes the simplest of techniques creates the biggest victories," Kakashi said from behind.

"That was a clever move, but you fucked up by being so close to me," Akuma said. He performed a single hand seal with his right hand and sand formed and began twirling around him like a vortex. The powerful vortext lifted Kakashi up into the air and threw him across the warehouse where he landed into a pile of empty crates, but Kakashi dispersed into smoke.

"A Kage Bunshin?" Akuma questioned out of surprise. '_This Kakashi is no pushover after all.'_

Suddenly a swarm of flying kunai came at Akuma. The Missing-nin easily dodged the projectiles by quickly jumping back but something caught Akuma by a surprise, a kick connected with his face causing him to spin backwards and hit the ground. Kakashi appeared and began performing hand seals very quickly.

_'__**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu**__,_' Kakashi mentally called for.

However, there was nothing. Akuma looked around the warehouse and back at Kakashi and started laughing. Although his laughing caused him to miss the smirk that formed underneath the silver-haired Jounin's mask.

"What was that? I was actually thinking you were a worthy opponent and then your own jutsu fucked failed!" laughed Akuma. Again Akuma missed a smirk from Kakashi.

"Do you know what happens to sand when it gets wet?" Kakashi asked.

This caused Akuma to stop laughing and he looked puzzled. What the hell did he mean by that question? His question was answered when water broke through the windows and doors to the warehouse while Kakashi jumped up to the catwalk above. The spinning vortext of water headed straight for Akuma.

"What the hell?!" yelled Akuma as the spinning vortex of water slammed into Akuma pulling him under the water and started spinning him underwater. The vortext spun him all the way into the wall of the warehouse.

Naruto had finally got inside the office and did not find Konohamaru but he did keep himself hidden in the office after the water bursted into the warehouse and now was watching from inside the office looking for his chance to get out of the warehouse to continue searching for Konohamaru.

Kakashi stayed on the catwalk looking down at Akuma.

"That hurt but no matter," Akuma said raising his hand and performing one hand seal. "This should turn things my way now."

Akuma's sand had turned into mud after Kakashi's water jutsu flooded the warehouse but he was still able to control it. Kakashi just watched and analyzed the situation the best he could. The mud that Akuma rose molded into large, sharp spikes and Akuma's evil grin returned to his face.

"I'd like to thank you Kakashi," Akuma began. "Without that water technique, I wouldn't have been able to use this jutsu."

'_Shit! What the hell did I just do?'_ Kakashi thought. '_Using that jutsu seems to have been a mistake._'

"**Doro Kasui Shikyo no Jutsu!**" yelled Akuma and waved his arms.

The hardened spikes shot towards Kakashi. Kakashi jumped off the catwalk and managed to dodge them much to Akuma's dismay. Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of Akuma and punched him in the stomach. Then Kakashi kicked Akuma in his ribs on the left side which pushed Akuma backwards into empty crates on the floor. Akuma got up without fail but before he could do anything he was met with an uppercut by Kakashi. Akuma flew backwards but managed to kick Kakashi away from him but that Kakashi dispersed into smoke revealing it was just another Kage Bunshin. Akuma landed on his back hard. He struggled to get up, but he managed to after a while.

"You're a speedy opponent, I'll give you that," Akuma said looking around for Kakashi.

"You should give up, you may be powerful but you won't win this fight," Kakashi's voice echoed through the warehouse.

"Are you kidding me? I'm just getting started," Akuma replied.

Kakashi sighed, "Your hateful ambitions will only be your downfall."

Akuma laughed, "My hateful ambitions will achieve my victory!"

Akuma then raised a large wall of sand from the ground. He kept it in place for a few minutes.

"A wall of sand huh? Playing defense now?" Kakashi mocked.

"**Suna Tsunami no Jutsu**!" yelled Akuma.

The wall of sand began to move and started rolling like a tidal wave of water would. Kakashi embraced himself as there was no way to dodge this attack. The wave of sand slammed into Kakashi and everything around him. Naruto, who was still in the office, decided it was his time to leave the warehouse and ran for the back door which was busted open earlier when Kakashi's water vortex entered the warehouse. He was outside as the sand slammed into the wall of the warehouse, some of it coming out the broken windows and the doorway.

'_Kakashi-sensei, you better win this._' Naruto began to think, '_I don't want to have to come back and save your ass._'

Back in the warehouse, Akuma surveyed the area and smirked when he saw nothing. No sign of Kakashi, just an endless field of sand all throughout the entire warehouse. Suddenly the back wall of the warehouse broke open as a huge dragon of water charged at Akuma and slamming into him. The force of the attack made Akuma fly backwards and slam into wall behind him. Akuma counted it the third time he was sent crashing into something hard. Kakashi obviously didn't go down like he wanted him to. Kakashi was definately no opponent to take lightly. Kakashi then walked through the hole his water dragon made. Akuma's eyes widened in disbelief.

'_How the hell did he get outside?_' Akuma thought. Kakashi saw the disbelief in Akuma's eyes.

"Confused?" the silver-haired Jounin asked. "It's simple, you've been fighting Bunshins the entire time."

'_Son of a bitch, it was a fucking bunshin and I couldn't even beat!'_ Akuma thought. Akuma thought he was just toying with Kakashi but he had it backwards, he was being toyed with by Kakashi.

"Alright, no more fucking games. I didn't think I'd have to use this jutsu but I will," Akuma said as he got back to his feet after the pain in his back had subsided and went back to staring down Kakashi. "Kakashi, you sure are a worthy opponent, I neve thought I'd have to resort to this next one to defeat the likes of you."

While Akuma was talking to Kakashi he failed to notice another Kakashi was approaching him from the side in Akuma's blind spot. Suddenly it appeared in front of Akuma.

"What the..." was all he could say as the second Kakashi grabbed him and kneed him in the stomach as hard as he could before punching him through the front door where Akuma landed outside. The punch was chakra-laced and the force caused Akuma to skid a few feet before coming to a stop. The Kakashi that had came into the warehouse through the hole made by his water dragon dispersed into smoke.

"Another bunshin, to distract you while I snuck up behind you," Kakashi said before Akuma said anything.

Akuma got back to his feet in anger, "That's it, I'm done playing fucking games with you! This ends now!"

Akuma closed his eyes and made a hand seal. Sand began spiraling around him and he opened his eyes. His entire eyeball was now tan.

"**Sunaarashi Kinjutsu: Suna Arashi no Jutsu**!" yelled Akuma. The whole area was turned into a violent sandstorm that lasted for several minutes. Once it cleared, the entire area was covered in sand, however, Kakashi wasn't no where to be found. Akuma looked around and saw no one. Did he defeat Kakashi? Did the sandstorm blow away Kakashi? The questions flooding Akuma's mind were cut off when he felt two hands grab his ankles. He looked down.

"What the f..."

"**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu**!" yelled Kakashi from underground and pulled Akuma underground only leaving his head exposed above the surface.

"I see you evaded another one of my Jutsu yet again," Akuma said. "You truly are a hard opponent to put down."

"Did you really expect this fight to be that easy?" asked Kakashi.

"Actually yes I do since the great Kakashi of the Sharingan doesn't have the Sharingan anymore," replied Akuma.

"So you know who I was before the war after all," Kakashi said. "Interesting. However, your arrogance here today is what caused you to lose here."

Kakashi took out a kunai for the finishing blow when Akuma began to laugh.

"So quick to kill me?" asked Akuma. "Well I guess you forgot that I can create sand out of anything."

The ground that had imprisoned Akuma quickly turned to sand. Kakashi jumped backwards as the sand pushed Akuma out of the ground, freeing him. Kakashi cursed himself under his breath for this lack of judgement in this point of the battle. The sand under Akuma's feet hardened back up into the ground that was there earlier with Akuma staring Kakashi down.

"It seems I have underestimated the ability of your Kekkei Genkai," Kakashi confessed.

Akuma didn't respond as he held up his hand and sand formed around them and hardened.

'_Suna Taijutsu._' Akuma noted mentally and charged at Kakashi. Kakashi tried his best to dodge them. A couple of them hit their mark which created lacerations on his face, blood dripping onto Akuma's sand fists.

"You dodged them pretty well except for the last couple of ones," Akuma said.

"I guess I was caught off guard," Kakashi lied. Kakashi immediately pulled out a scroll from his middle scroll pocket on his Jounin vest. He unraveled it and wiped the blood from his face and then smeared it across the scroll. Kakashi began twirling the scroll around himself before letting it ravel back up. Kakashi then performed hand seals in quick succession with the scroll in hand and slammed it to the ground.

"**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu**!" yelled Kakashi. Writing from within the scroll entered the ground.

"What the hell did you just do?" Akuma asked watching.

Kakashi didn't say anything as a pack of dogs came out of the ground around Akuma and bit down on both his legs, both his arms and a huge bulldog bit down Akuma's shoulder and held him in place. Akuma yelled out in pain from the bites but could not move, the dogs were overpowering him somehow. Kakashi slowly walked towards Akuma.

"Well you have me right were you want me," Akuma began. "So fucking kill me already!"

"But the look in your eye wonders how these dogs sniffed you out, am I right?" asked Kakshi.

"I don't care, if you're going to kill, fucking do it already!" yelled Akuma.

"I let you punch me and let the blood from my cuts drip onto your fists. Then I used the same blood to summon my pack of dogs to sniff you out, the used the scent of my blood to hold you down," revealed Kakashi.

"Like I said, I don't fucking care, just kill me if you're going to already!" Akuma yelled more.

"Time to end it then," Kakasi said as he performed a couple of hand seals. His charka began to form into his hands and turned into electricity.

"What the hell is that? You can see the chakra!" Akuma said surprised.

Kakashi charged at Akuma, "**Raikiri**!"

Kakashi's arm with the Raikiri was plunged into Akuma's chest. Kakashi knew he missed Akuma's heart and cursed himself. With the loss of the Sharingan, the accuracy of his Raikiri became less. The blade of lightning faded and left Akuma bleeding out of the hole Kakashi made.

Akuma laughed knowing Kakashi missed the heart, "You managed to defeat me this time Kakashi, but next time I'll be ready for you so you will not be so lucky."

After Akuma's statement, sand swirled around Akuma and he was gone. Kakashi cursed himself again for missing Akuma's heart and allowing him to survive and escape to heal up and come back for more later on. However, Kakashi promised himself if he had to face Akuma again, the next time it would be a fatal blow. Right now it wasn't time to fret on the battle that just wrapped up, he was still on a mission to find Konohamaru and must see if Naruto had found him yet. Kakashi looked down at the puddle of blood where Akuma was and sighed and then ran towards another warehouse in an attempt to find Naruto or Konohamaru.

* * *

Japanese Translations:

**Kawarimi no Jutsu:** Body Replacement Technique  
**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu:** Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique  
**Doro Kasui Shikyo no Jutsu: **Mud Spikes of Death Technique  
**Suna Tsunami no Jutsu: **Sand Tidal Wave Technique  
**Sunaarashi Kinjutsu: Suna Arashi no Jutsu:** Sunaarashi Forbidden Technique: Sand Storm Technique  
**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu: **Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique  
**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu:** Summoning: Earth Release: Tracking Fang Technique  
**Raikiri: **Lightning Cutter

**Next: Chapter 15: Don't Underestimate Me**

Also I'm working on a new story that will be called 'A Different World'. It will be kind of a crossover between Naruto and The Walking Dead. I should have the first chapter up in a couple of days or so.


	15. Don't Underestimate Me

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**For those that don't know, my new story 'A Different World' has been published, the first two chapters posted. I will begin working on the third and have that posted once it's done.**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Don't Underestimate Me**

Hiroshi stared down his opponent. The dirty blonde-haired with a blue cloak stared back. The surrounding was a warehouse with wooden crates stacked on the floor in rows. The Missing-nin walked into some light where it showed his blue eyes. He looked to be an older teenager about eighteen. The Missing-nin thought it was bullshit he had to fight a child basically. He wanted a challenge.

"Who are you and what you want?" questioned Hiroshi who was actually planning a route for an escape trying to honor Naruto's request not to engage the enemy.

"It's really none of your concern," answered the teen, "But if you must know, you can call me Ni."

Hiroshi noticed the symbol on Ni's forehead protector, '_He's a ninja from Kirigakure, I thought there was Missing-nin here._'

"I'm curious, what's the name of the person I shall kill today?" asked Ni.

"Kurosaki Hiroshi," answered the boy. Why did he answer the enemy for? The boy however didn't notice Ni's eyes widened at the mention of his name.

'_Kurosaki? I thought _he_ killed the remaning family._'

"I got one more question, what's a ninja from Kirigakure doing here?" asked Hiroshi.

Ni started laughing, "I admire your observation skills, however, I don't associate myself with the likes of that stupid village."

So he was a Missin-nin after all. "If that's true, then why do you still wear the forehead protector?"

Ni didn't answer Hiroshi and decided to begin the battle. He was tired of talking to the child and wanted to head back so he began performing hand seals.

"**Suiton: Bakusai Shoha!**" he yelled.

Water began gushing out of Ni's mouth. Hiroshi was shocked that the ninja began attacking first. The entire warehouse floor was becoming wet. However, Ni's plan to fill the place with water backfired when the hole he had cut into to get inside and wait was still there and the water was coming out of it. However a crate floated to the hole and blocked it, which cut off the water's exit and now the warehouse began to fill up with water.

'_Now how am I going to get out of this.'_ Hiroshi thought as he began swimming. Ankoku who was still hiding waiting for his opportunity to strike, began swimming around too. If the warehouse continued to fill up, he was going to be exposed too.

"Well, this is way too easy," spoke Ni. "You can't even walk on water yet."

Hiroshi swam to a stack of loaded crates that were too heavy to be swept away by the water and climbed on top of them.

"Looks like I'll have to fight this guy from here," the boy said to himself. Ni smirked and began performing hand seals.

"**Sution: Hahonryu!**" the Missing-nin yelled as he raised his hands up and water began spiraling around his hands. Then the water fired like a projectile and an incredible speed and he new the kid wouldn't be able to dodge this attack. The blast of water crashed into the tower of crates, breaking them open which caused Hiroshi to fall back into the water. Ni didn't waste any time, he wanted this battle over and performed hand seals again.

"**Suiton: Goshokuzame!**" yelled Ni. "Hope you like it, this jutsu I just learned recently."

Hiroshi, still in the water, looked around and didn't see anything. However, below the surface, five sharks of water formed and began swimming around. Hiroshi smirked thinking the jutsu failed.

"Well I think you need more training, it looks like it didn't work," said the boy.

Ni smirked, "You really think that? First meal!"

Hiroshi looked at Ni in confusion, was this guy just crazy? Then something bit Hiroshi's leg. The boy screamed in pain for just a second before he was pulled underwater. Ankoku, still hiding, watched in horror. Should he reveal himself to help his comrade or should he wait to see what Hiroshi does? He was torn inside. He always thought Hiroshi was a loser, however, in the midst of battle they were both Konoha-nin, he didn't know what to do.

Underwater, Hiroshi could see four sharks swimming around and then the fifth one that had him by the leg. Hiroshi took out a kunai and stabbed the water shark in the head and kicked it away. The shark, which was kicked apart, materalized back into a shark.

"Second meal!" yelled Ni. A second chark began to swim toward Hiroshi. However, the genin used his kunai to stab it in the head and kick it away for the moment.

"Third meal! Fourth Meal! Fifth Meal!" Ni yelled out, one command after the other. The three sharks swam for Hiroshi. Hiroshi closed his eyes and waited for impact, he knew he was done for here.

'_Naruto-sensei, I'm sorry,'_

But before letting the sharks hit him at once, he decided not to give up and performed a couple of hand seals. The moment he was finished, the sharks began biting at Hiroshi, only for him to turn into a wooden crate. He managed to use his body replacement at the last second. On the surface, Ni couldn't tell what happened but he noticed the boy didn't come back up from the surface. He smirked, thinking he won the battle, he allowed his sharks to deform back into water.

"That ended too quickly and it wasn't fun either," Ni said disappointed. Ankoku hit himself in the head, he should have did something and now he let his comrade just die. Suddenly a familar voice echoed through the warehouse.

"It's not over yet!"

Ni turned around and his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. Hiroshi alive and well. The surprise froze him in place for a second which allowed Hiroshi to kick Ni square in the face. The missing-nin then fell into his own pool he had created. Ni then resurfaced, blood coming out of his nose.

"How?" the Missing-nin questioned.

"I almost gave up and let myself die," began Hiroshi. "However, I have a mission to complete so at the last second I used the **Kawarimi no Jutsu**. Now let me introduce you to the only water technique that my family accidently created."

The boy began performing hand seals. "**Sution: Uzumaki Se no Jutsu!**"

The water began to spin. The spinning got bigger and more violent as Ni was trapped inside of it.

"What the hell is this!" yelled Ni as the current of the whirlpool thrased him around like a toy. Shortly after, the whirlpool stopped and Ni was no where to be found.

"Did he drown?"

"Not likely," said Ni from the catwalk above. Hiroshi looked up to see Ni.

"What? How did you escape that?!"

"It was a **Mizu Bunshin**. I wanted to see what you could do before the I really got involved with this battle," Ni answered.

'_Damn it, I used a good amount of chakra with that last jutsu. On top of that, I still haven't fully recovered from my fight with Sumi earlier. And that damned pussy Ankoku is no where to be found to help me. I don't think I'm going to beat him,_' Hiroshi thought.

"I can tell you're a bit exhausted. However, I'll be the first to admit I underestimated you," Ni said. "I thought you being just a kid, you would be weak and an easy kill for me."

Hiroshi then remembered he had something on him he took from his father's room. He dug through his pocket and found it was still there, it was a purple pill, a soldier pill and he took it and swallowed it.

"Never underestimate me!" yelled Hiroshi.

'_Shit, the runt took a soldier pill; his Chakra will now be replenished and even strengthene beyond its original capability,'_ Ni thought.

'_I can't use any of my earth jutsu since everything is underwater, if only Ankoku would get his ass in the fight and use his fire jutsu to evaporate this water, I can counter-attack,_' Hiroshi thought, getting frustrated. He then performed a few hand seals.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu**," Hiroshi said to himself. Five replications appeared beside the real Hiroshi.

'_He's using plain replications?'_

The five replications along with the real Hiroshi began jumping across the stacks of heavy crates. The replications jumped at Ni, he knew they weren't real so he threw a few kunai to dispell them quickly. He was too busy with the fake Hirsohi replications to notice the real one had snuck behind him. Hiroshi grabbed his kunai and stabbed Ni in the arm and jumped away before he could be punched or kicked or even stabbed with a kunai himself. Ni yelled out in pain as he pulled out the kunai. His arm began bleeding from the wound as his arm fell limp.

"What!? What the hell did you do to my arm you little bastard?!" Ni yelled.

"It's a secret," Hiroshi said, smirking victoriously.

'_If it's the same technique as _he_ uses, then I won't be able to use my jutsu now,'_ Ni thought, assessing the situation. He used his left arm to dig though his holster and grabbed a few shuriken and threw them at Hiroshi, who he thought was off guard. Hiroshi dodged them at the last second, the shuriken slammed into the crate behind him. It was empty so the force of the shuriken, obliterated the wooden crate. This exposed Ankoku who was still hiding. Ni was kind of shocked. Ankoku feared for his life now.

"Well, well, looks like you were planning on having a backup plan," Ni said. He grinned as he noticed their new guest was scared shitless. Hiroshi looked up to see Ankoku was frozen in fear.

'_Shit,'_ Hiroshi thought. It was tough fighting this ninja, now he was going to have to keep Ankoku from being harmed. Hiroshi had to get rid of this water. He knew a technique but he remembered before his mother and father went on their mission where they were killed that his father had just began teaching him the jutsu and had not mastered it yet, in fact, he hadn't succeeded creating the jutsu period. '_Now is a good time as any.'_

The boy performed hand seals, but he didn't want to alert Ni, who was more focused on Ankoku at the moment, she he didn't yell out the jutsu name.

Ni was about to throw kunai at Ankoku, but stopped when the warehouse began to shake. What the hell was going on? Ni looked around, he saw Hiroshi standing on crates trying to hold on, but he wasn't doing anything. Ni kept looking around and found nothing. The shaking finally stopped after a few minutes. Nothing else happened. Hiroshi sighed, the jutsu failed like he knew it would. However, he noticed the water level was dropping. Ni noticed this too.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked. The water then all drained out in a massive crack, the floor and the earth below the foundation of the warehouse had opened up and all the water had drained into the giant fissure. Hiroshi was shocked the jutsu worked.

"What a bad time for an earthquake to drain my water," Ni said not realizing it was Hiroshi that was the cause of the giant fissure. Ni brushed it off and went back to what he was going to do, throw kunai at Ankoku, but he wasn't there anymore. He used the earthquake distraction as a means to hide again. Ni threw his kunai through the warehouse, hoping to expose the genin again. However in doing this he forgot about Hiroshi and the genin used that distraction to his advantage and snuck up behind Ni again and stabbed his left arm. Ni screamed in pain again. He managed to pull out the kunai with his mouth and his left arm went numb.

'_Damn it, what am I going to do now?_'

"This is what happenes to people who underestimate me," Hiroshi said. "My father made sure I was prepared and started my training earlier than most kids. By the time I reached the academy, I knew a lot more than my peers. It's only through that training is how I am able to keep up with you. I know my chakra is limited, but it only get more as I get older and through training," explained Hiroshi.

Ni couldn't believe he was bested by a kid younger than him.

"I'm just curious, what rank were you before you decided to leave Kirigakure?" asked the boy.

"It doesn't matter, that was all in the past," replied Ni.

"Fair enough," Hiroshi said as he began performing hand seals. "**Doton: Tsuchi Hashira Zetsumei**!"

Large pillars made of solid earth broke through the floor where Ni was standing. Although his arms were temporarily paralyzed, he still could move quick on his feet and began dodging the pillars coming out of the floor. However, one pillar managed to scratch him along his spine.

"Damn, I missed," Hiroshi said flatly.

"What do you mean you missed? One nearly ripped out my spine!" yelled Ni.

"Well, I was hoping one of my pillars would kill you," replied Hiroshi.

Ni jumped back and his back hit something hard and wet? He tried to look but he realized he couldn't move.

"What the hell is this?" asked Ni.

"Thanks to the wet ground from the fissure that I created to drain the water, allowed me to make this new technique I'll call, Quicksand Trap," replied Hiroshi. Ni couldn't believe it was Hiroshi that made the fissure that drained the water. "Ankoku, now!"

Ankoku revealed himself, however, he wasn't scared anymore. In fact, he looked like he was ready for battle.

"It can't be? You were scared shitless when your position was given away," Ni said.

"It was all an act," replied Ankoku, "Me and Hiroshi planned this before we even entered the warehouse."

With those final words, Ankoku began performing hand seals, "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!**"

A massive fireball came out of Ankoku's mouth and head straight for Ni. What the two Genin didn't notice was Ni's grin. The fireball then hit the quicksand wall. Once the flames died down, they found Ni wasn't there.

"Sorry kids, but I wasn't dying here today," Ni said from the catwalk above. "After that last pillar, I created a **Mizu Bunshin** just in case and I'm glad I did. But you should know I do consider this a defeat, but if we ever meet again, I'll make sure you'll end up dead."

"No, you're not getting away!" yelled Hiroshi as he tried to charge at Ni, but his vision began to blur.

Ni then disappered in a cloud of mist.

"No!" yelled Hiroshi, but he knew he had reached his limit. His vision turned back and he fell to the ground. However, he was caught before he hit the ground.

"Sakura-sensei!" called out Ankoku.

* * *

Darkness. It was all that could be seen. However the vision started to clear up. The brightness caused a headache to pound. It was Hiroshi that just woke up, he looked around to find himself outside. He suddenly remembered what was going on.

"Ni!" yelled. But no one called back. He remembered Ni had escaped.

"Oh, Hiroshi, you're awake," said a female voice. Hiroshi looked up to find Sakura and Ankoku.

"Sakura-sensei, what are you doing here?" asked the boy.

"Naruto-kun sent me to check up on you guys," answered Sakura. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," replied Hiroshi. "How long was I out?"

"No long, a few minutes," Sakura said smiling.

"Good job man," Ankoku said, aknowledging his fellow Genin.

Hiroshi smiled, "Thanks, I guess."

Hiroshi got back to his feet, he felt a little light headed but he would manage.

"Come on, let's go find the others," Sakura said. Hiroshi and Ankoku nodded and followed Sakura through the docks.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Suiton: Bakusai Shoha:** Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave  
**Suiton: Hahonryu:** Water Release: Rapid Crusher  
**Suiton: Goshokuzame:** Water Release: Five Eating Sharks  
**Kawarimi no Jutsu:** Body Replacement Technique  
**Suiton: Uzumaki Se no Jutsu:** Water Release: Whirlpool Torrent Technique  
**Bunshin no Jutsu:** Replication Technique  
**Doton: Tsuchi Hashira Zetsumei:** Earth Release: Earth Pillars of Death  
**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu:** Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique  
**Mizu Bunshin:** Water Replication

**Next: Chapter 16: Shiro's Strength**


	16. Shiro's Strength

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**Just want to take the time to thank all those that have reviewed so far**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Shiro's Strength**

Two children and an older teen stared each other down inside a large warehouse. The teen wore a blue cloak with medium length black hair and red bangs. The two younger ninja could tell by his eyes he had no remorse for anything. The teen had a evil smirk planted on his face as he assessed his opponents.

"Y'know brats, it's been a while since I've fought anyone," the teen said. "I really need this thrill."

One of the boys turned to the other boy. "Go find your sensei or Naruto-sensei, I'll hold him off at least a little bit."

"What are you crazy Shiro?!" yelled the second boy. "Let's not fight at all and split."

"Shinji, he's not going to let us both escape," Shiro continued. "Go get your sensei or Naruto-sensei!"

Shinji looked at Shiro like he was crazy one more time and then turn and ran away. Shiro turned his attention back to his blue-cloaked opponent. The teen looked at Shinji run away, a little disappointed he wouldn't be ending two lives tonight.

"What's the matter with that other kid?" the teen asked. "He scared?"

Shiro didn't answer the teen. It seemed to the teen this young ninja basically ignored him altogether.

"What? You scared too?" the teen taunted.

Shiro scoffed and smirked, "I am not, I finally get a chance to test my jutsu."

The teen smirked, "Good, this should be a very bloody fight."

"Maybe," replied Shiro.

"Before we get started, let me just introduce you to your killer," the teen said.

"I don't really care who you are, let's just get started," Shiro said.

"You can just call me San," the teen said, ignoring Shiro.

Shiro didn't aknowledge the name. He just wanted the fight to begin so he could either finish this guy off or wait until Shinji's sensei or Naruto-sensei arrive and kill this guy. Shiro's silence was starting to irritate San.

"Y'know, your silence is starting to piss me off!" San spat in annoyance.

"Get used to it, I'm not very talkative," Shiro said.

San let out an angry growl and began performing hand seals.

"**Raiton: Rai Dageki!**"

A bolt of lightning came out of San's body and struck Shiro. San grinned, it was too easy. However, Shiro's body turned into a log.

"What the hell?" San asked out of disbelief.

San looked up at the catwalks above to see Shiro coming at him, shuriken in hand. Shiro threw the shuriken but San easily jumped out of the way. What happened next is what San didn't expect. Shiro that was coming at him disappeared, the real Shiro was behind San and sweep kicked San's legs causing him to fall to the floor.

'_Damn it, I fell for that_' San thought as he began getting up. Then he saw Shiro performing hand seals.

Chakra began surrounding around Shiro. It was visible and San couldn't believe what he was seeing. Chakra wasn't supposed to be visible, right?

"Y'know, Chakra can't be visible, what the hell is going on?" San asked.

"It's my clan's ability. I can emit chakra from my body and control it," replied Shiro, careful not to give too much information on his clan's abilities.

The Chakra surrounding Shiro began moving and shaped itself into a large hand. San's eyes widened in disbelief of what he was seeing. He tried to move but couldn't. Was he actually frozen in fear? San stood still as the giant hand made of Shiro's Chakra grabbed San.

"What the hell is going on?!" San yelled as the Chakra hand threw San into the floor like a child throwing their toys.

The hand made of Chakra returned to Shiro and returned to its natural state, still swirling around Shiro himself. San struggled to return to his feet as pain was felt over his entire body. Once that pain finally subsided enough, he made it to his feet.

"Y'know that wasn't bad kid, however, you'll never beat me without real powerful jutsu's," San said.

"I don't need any of those kinds of jutsu," Shiro stated. San didn't reply and began performing hand seals quickly.

"**Raiton: Tsuin Rai Dageki!**"

The attack was similar to San's first jutsu, but two bolts of lightning was emitted from San's body and struck Shiro. San smirked when he saw Shiro fall to the ground motionless.

'_He didn't react? That last jutsu took him out quickly,_' San thought as he walked over to Shiro then he noticed the Chakra.

"No, this can't be! The Chakra is still around that kid!" San yelled as he backed away.

Shiro got up from where he was lying unhurt. He turned his attention back to San and raised his hand to make a hand seal.

"**Kinjutsu: Chakra Shuriken!**"

Shiro's Chakra formed into shuriken. Shiro made another hand seal and the Chakra shuriken flew straight toward San. San jumped around dodging the Chakra projectiles, but unlike real shuriken, these didn't stop.

'_Damn it, that brat is controlling their diretion,_' San noticed and decided to throw a kunai at the boy to get him to lose his focus.

San reached into his kunai pouch and pulled one out, all still trying to dodge Shiro's Chakra shuriken. He then aimed for Shiro, which turned his attention from the Chakra shuriken, and San was hit. San lost his focus and fell to the ground. He looked at himself to notice he had scratches and a few cuts, bleeding from the larger cuts.

"Y'know you fucking brat, you made me bleed!" San yelled in anger, "And for that, I'll make you pay."

San then began performing hand seals as Shiro just waited to see what was to com.

'_The fool doesn't realize his lightning jutsu won't work against me. My family may have the ability to emit that chakra and control it to use it as a weapon, but we still have a chakra nature which is of the wind element.'_

San finished his hand seals and yelled, "**Raiton: Rai Kadou!**"

San held out his two hands with his palms in Shiro's view. Lightning began forming in the middle of both of San's palms and began spiraling around. A rotating vortex of lightning had formed and escaped from San's hold aiming straight for Shiro. Shiro smirked, which went unnoticed by San, and waited for the right moment since the teen was focused on his palms and not Shiro himself. Shiro then performed a few hand seals and waited. Shiro could no longer see San's eyes so it was the moment and finished off with the last hand seal. The air around Shiro began to spiral into a shild. The lightning vortex crashed into the air. San felt that his jutsu didn't hit where it was supposed to, however, the lightning vortex was blocking his sight so he couldn't tell what it was. He pumped some more chakra into the jutsu to break whatever obstacle that was in the way. Shiro did not keep the strength of the wind jutsu since his plan was to weaken the jutsu so when it hit him, Shiro wouldn't be effected at all. Shiro also wanted San to use more Chakra so he would be tired out and want to flee from battle. San continued to pump Chakra into his jutsu as it broke through Shiro's wall. He felt that he pushed through and stopped pumping more Charka. The lightning vortex hit Shiro dead on and San cancelled the jutsu once he felt he had got Shiro. Then he noticed the crumbled earth wall, that had to been what stopped his jutsu.

"Shit what the hell did I hit earlier?," San asked himself. He looked around to see if he could find Shiro. He noticed a body lying on the floor, Chakra still surrounding him as he got up.

"How the fuck can you still get up from that?," said San.

"I may use my own Chakra as a weapon, but it still has an element nature and mine is wind," explained Shiro. San's eyes widened but smirked.

"Y'know, I'm still going to find a way to kill you," threatened San.

Shiro ignored his last comment and took advantage of his talking and performed a eal.

"**Kinjutsu: Chakra Baindingu!**" Shiro yelled as his Chakra spanned out across the floor and wrapped around San's feet in the blink of an eye. San tried to move but couldn't.

"Damn it! What the hell did you do to me?" San yelled. "When I'm done with you, you're going to regret ever being born you bastard!"

"How?" Shiro asked, "My Chakra has got your feet locked, you cannot move."

"**Kinjutsu: Chakra Supiazu!**" Shiro yelled as more of his Chakra formed into spears.

San noticed Shiro's breathing starting to become heavy. '_He's getting tired. If I can survive this, that should be it._'

Shiro made another hand seal and the spears flew through the air at high speed. All six Chakra spears stabbed through San. He yelled out in plan as blood began oozing out of the twelve holes (six in front and six in back) made by the spears. The Charka spears dissipated only leaving wounds on San. Shiro, however, had decided not to hit any vital points because he did not think very much of killing people even if they were bad. He knew it was a weakness for a Shinobi to show compassion, but he didn't care. Shiro's Chakra that had kept San in place dissipated as well which allowed San to fall to his knees where he started coughing up blood.

"You little bastard!" San said between coughing spells. "I'm going to kill you and after you're dead I'm going to rip your body to pieces. Look at what you've done to me!"

Shiro didn't respond, opting to stay silent.

"Besides, I noticed youre getting tired," San pointed out. "You can't keep this Chakra technique of yours up much longer."

"Hmm, thanks for reminding me of that," Shiro said as he pulled out a pill from his pouch. He swallowed it and Chakra began emitting out of Shiro again.

'_A soldier pill? Son of a bitch, this kid might actually beat me!'_ San thought.

"My family takes these soldier pills so we can keep using our Chakra Weapon for long periods of time," Shiro said.

San struggled to get back up to his feet. The injuries Shiro's spears that impaled him were taking their toll on him. He was losing blood, albeit slowly, but enough to make him feel a little light-headed.

'_Shit, I'm starting to feel light-headed, I don't think I can keep up this fight much longer. I need to kill this little bastard so I have to finish this fight with my final jutsu,_' San planned.

The teen finally made it to his feet and looked straight at Shiro. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves as Shiro just stared him down back. Shiro was waiting for whatever the teen was about to do next. San then flashed through hand seals.

"This is it you little brat, this last attack is going to finish you off once and for all. **Raiton: Rai Bakuha!**" the teen yelled.

Balls of electricity formed around San. Shiro counted twelve that had formed which San noticed as well.

'_Only twelve? I must be low on Chakra then,'_ San thought. '_It'll have to do._'

San then charged at Shiro with all the energy he had left. Shiro stood in place smirking.

"I thought I just told your dumbass that your lightning jutsu's won' t work on me."

San didn't listen to anything the kid had to say because he was determined to kill the very brat that just stomped all over his pride as a Shinobi. He believed his lightning jutsu was superior to any other. Wait, Shinobi? Such a title could not be honored for San because he was no Shinobi any longer, just a common criminal, a Missing-nin from his village.

San reached Shiro, he took out a sword that was hidden in his cloak and charged his Chakra into and began cutting through the balls of electricity in half which caused massive explosions. San's speed with this jutsu was just enough to get him out of the blast zone of each electric ball. After San sliced through the last lightning ball, San waited patiently for the smoke of the blasts to clear. As soon as the smoke cleared, Shiro was no where to be found which pissed of San.

"Y'know, don't tell me that fucking brat got away again!" yelled San as he walked around the warehouse looking for any signs of Shiro. As San was about to move, he couldn't. San looked down to find Chakra was spiraling around his ankles, he was caught in Shiro's Chakra again.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled San. Shiro emerged from the earth that he had created earlier in front of San.

"I think it's time I end this," Shiro said. "I had fun testing my abilities on you so I thank you."

"Why you little bastard, even if you _do_ beat me now, I will come back for your head!" San yelled.

"I'll be waiting," Shiro replied. "Each time you do, I'll just defeat you over and over again."

Shiro then made a hand seal, "**Kinjutsu: Issen Shuriken To Kunai!**"

Chakra that was surrounding Shiro formed into thousands of shuriken and kunai. Shiro then made another hand seal which released the Chakra attack through the air.

"Shit!" yelled San as he embraced himself for the attack he couldn't dodge. The shuriken and kunai began ripping through San. He screamed out in pain as the wounds began to ooze blood. San felt like the attacked dragged on for hours until it finally ended.

Shiro released his Chakra bind on San as he collapsed to the floor. His body was full of cuts and wounds. Most of them were minor and the bleeding had stopped, but inside, it felt like San was on fire. The attack wasn't lethal, but it burned like hell. Shiro approached San and stared at him, believing the teen was a pathetic excuse for a Shinobi.

"You should have quit after you got hit by my Chakra Spears," Shiro said. San didn't reply right away as he struggled to get back on his feet. After failing several times, he just looked up.

"I'd rather die than to admit my defeat to a fucking kid," San said.

"I could arrange that," Shiro replied.

San smirked as he tried to get back onto his feet. He struggled but finally managed to get back on his feet as he stared down the boy that just defeated him although he wouldn't admit it.

"Shiro!" yelled several voices at the same time. San looked up to see three more kids and two adults running into the warehouse.

"Looks like it's time for me to go, I'll come back for you and kill you someday, mark my words," said San as he used all his remaining strength to use his body flicker to disappear.

Shiro stood and stared where the teen was just at, '_If you do come back, I'll make sure not to hesitate to kill you._'

Shiro finally allowed the remaining Chakra he was emitting out of his body to dissipate and fell to his knees, exhausted. The battle lasted much longer than he had hoped and it took a lot out of him being a Genin. Shinji finally made it to Shiro along with Hiroshi, Ankoku and Sakura.

"Are you alright man?" asked Shinji. Shiro nodded.

Sakura kneeled down and began surveying the boy and her hands turned green, healing Shiro in attempt to give him some energy.

"No major injuries," Sakura said. "Just minor cuts and exhaustion.

"Thanks, Sakura-sensei," said Shiro. Sakura nodded and smile.

Shiro returned to his feet after Sakura healed him a bit with her medical ninjutsu. He told Sakura that the warehouse was clear, no one was here. Hiroshi then wanted to check on Himawari next and the Konoha-nin left the warehouse. Shiro decided to stay behind to take a nice long rest. He walked to a dock nearby where he knew it would be safe and sat down on the edge looking out on the moonlit ocean which Shiro noticed the fog cleared for the moment. It was quiet, just how he liked it. He wasn't much of a talker or a fighter, which he knew, but he also knew he wouldn't hesitate to fight if he had to just like tonight. Shiro also realized he had been talking a little more than usual. Shiro let out a long sigh.

"I just want this mission to end so I can go back home," he said to himself.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Raiton: Rai Dageki:** Lightning Release: Lightning Strike  
**Raiton: Tsuin Rai Dageki:** Lightning Release: Twin Lightning Strikes  
**Kinjutsu: Chakra Shuriken:** Secret Jutsu: Chakra Shuriken  
**Raiton: Rai Kadou:** Lighting Release: Lighting Vortex  
**Kinjutsu: Chakra Baindingu:** Secret Jutsu: Chakra Binding  
**Kinjutsu: Chakra Supiazu:** Secret Jutsu: Chakra Spears  
**Raiton: Rai Bakuha:** Lightning Release: Lightning Blast  
**Kinjutsu: Issen Chakra Shuriken To Kunai:** Secret Jutsu: One-Thousand Chakra Shuriken And Kunai

**Next: Chapter 17: Kunoichi Battle**


	17. Kunoichi Battle

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Kunoichi Battle**

A woman with black hair tied back that flowed down to her lower back, wearing a blue cloak stared at the Genin kunoichi up above her on the catwalk. To Himawari, the woman's blue eyes looked to be ice cold.

"You scared little girl?"

Himawari just stayed in her spot hoping that the woman standing below her would believe she was mistaken at seeing someone and just leave. The woman smirked and Himawari knew there would be no getting rid of this enemy without a fight.

"You were able to answer my question without speaking, you are scared."

Himawari turned to run towards the window to escape but before she could, the woman that was below her on the warehouse floor was now on the same catwalk and in front of her. The evil smirk on her face scared Himawari a bit. As she was frozen with fear, the raven-haired woman kicked Himawari in the stomach causing the Genin to roll over.

"You actually going to fight or just keep allowing me to kick you around?" Asked the woman.

Himawari didn't answer her back.

"You are wasting Yon's time," the woman said refering to herself in the third person.

Himawari still didn't answer, the fear had her frozen up.

'_I-I need to stop freezing up like this, she's going to kill me if I don't. Come on Himawari, do something!_.

Himawari tried to get herself going but the fear was so much that she just couldn't. This was her first real ninja battle and she froze up completely.

Yon sighed, "I guess I'll just put you out of your misery."

The woman began performing hand seals in quick succession.

"**Suiton: Mizuama Nabara!**" she yelled.

Yon opened her mouth as she began to spit out a sticky syrup around the Genin. When she tried to move, even if it was a little, she wasn't going to be able to. The girl was now stuck on top of being frozen with fear.

"Now you can't move, just a little precaution so I can end your life right here. Ni-kun taught me that lovely Jutsu," Yon said.

"As if I know who that is," Himawari finally said.

"Well, you can talk," Yon said, shocked. Yon then began performing hand seals once again.

"**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!**"

Water that was in the shape of a dragon broke through windows at the top of the warehouse and headed right for Himawari. Himawari struggled to snap herself out of her fear and dodge the jutsu but she just couldn't. The young Genin braced herself for the impact of the jutsu and hoped to Kami she would survive it. As the water dragon got closer, Himawari decided to perform hand seals which Yon did not see. The water dragon crashed into the spot where Himawari was lying and broke the catwalk apart as water splashed around everywhere. Yon looked around but did not find Himawari's body.

"This isn't right, she couldn't even move," Yon said to herself.

"Actually now I can, I believe I've gotten over my fear," Himawari said from behind. Yon turned around to see Himawari standing alive and she was smiling.

"Impossible!" Yon forced out.

"I used a water replication," Himawari replied. "I acted like I was scared and was trapped on purpose. As soon as I had seen your KIrigakure forehead protector, I knew you would have specialized in water ninjutsu, just like my family."

The Genin performed hand seals, "**Suiro no Jutsu!**"

"Shit!" yelled Yon as the water from her water dragon formed a hard as steel water prison around Yon. Yon, however, noticed Himawari's hand was holding onto the prison.

"You baka, how do you expect to attack me now? Once you take your hand off this water prison, it will release me." Yon taunted but Himawari smirked and pointed.

"Huh?"

Yon looked to her left to see a figure was approaching.

"What the..."

The figure stopped and Yon recognized who it was.

"You used a replication!"

Himawari dispersed the replication and the water prison fell apart. The Genin charged at Yon but Yon quickly got to her feet but Himawari kicked her in the stomach and punched her in the face. The force of the blows pushed Yon back but Yon managed to do a back flip and landed on her hands, but before she could lower herself back on her feet, Himawari quickly did a sweep kick at her hands knocking Yon on her face. Yon got up to see that Himawari wasn't around anymore, suddenly she felt pain in her back as Himawari kicked her there causing Yon to stumble forward only to see three Himawari replications. All three kicked Yon in the stomach causing Yon to slide across the floor into a puddle of water leftover from Yon's earlier jutsu.

Yon coughed up a little blood, "You little brat, you managed to hurt me."

Himawari didn't respond to the woman and performed a few hand seals.

"**Suiton: Mizubashira Shuriken**!"

Yon managed to get to her knees when the water underneath her rose up and began spiraling around her. Yon struggled to get herself up in spite of the immense pain she was feeling at the moment.

"What the hell is going on here?" she questioned as the spiraling water rose to the ceiling.

Inside the vortex, shuriken made of water formed and began slashing and cutting at Yon. She yelled out in pain but inside the vortex, no one could hear her screams. A few more minutes of this jutsu lasted before it ended. Yon, still on her knees, had cuts and scratches all over her exposed skin. Her cloak had torn all over it. A small amount of blood oozed out of her cuts and slashes.

"You're a meanie!" Yon mocked in a fake kid-like voice. Himawari scoffed. Yon then smirked.

"You think you've beaten me bitch, but you haven't."

Yon pulled out scroll from within her torn cloak and unrolled it across the floor and made one hand seal and pressed her left hand on the seal symbol on the scroll. Said scroll created a cloud of smoke and when it cleared, a gourd was now in the place where the scroll was.

"I didn't think I would have to go this far, but I underestimated you. You're pretty good for a Genin," Yon said.

"My team and I were the best in our class," Himawari said. "And our sensei just might be the strongest in the village."

"You say that like I really care." Yon said and then pointed to her gourd, "Now that I have this out, you have no chance in hell of winning this battle."

Yon placed her right hand inside the gourd and pumped her chakra into it. Himawari observed her curiously.

'_What is she doing?_' the Genin thought.

"**Suiton no Jutsu!"** Yon yelled.

"What?" Himawari asked in confusion.

"Now that I pumped my chakra into this gourd that was filled with water, I can control that water," Yon replied. "Now I'm going to finish you off by drowning you."

Himawari's eyes widened as Yon moved her hands to coordinate the water. It moved toward Himawari's direction. The Genin jumped backwards until she found her back up against the wall. She looked around to see if there was anywhere to go and there wasn't, she was trapped. Before Himawari could do anything else, Yon's controlled water reached Himawari and began wrapping around the Genin.

"No!" she yelled.

"**Mizu Sanketsu!" **yelled Yon as she began laughing in her believed victory.

That water completed enclosed Himawari. She closed her eyes.

'_I guess this is it. Sorry Hiroshi-kun, Shiro and Naruto-sensei, I failed you all._' Himawari thought as she began to suffocate underwater.

Unbeknownst to Yon, while she was busy trying to drown Himawari, another person entered the warehouse. That person standing in the shadows took out a kunai and threw it. Yon, who was watching Himawari drown, heard something hit her gourd and looked to find a kunai impaled the gourd and hanging from the kunai's handle was an paper bomb.

"What!? Where did that come from?" Yon questioned and the paper bomb blew up, shattering the gourd into pieces.

"No my gourd!"

The water that was suffocating Himawari spilled to the floor, releasing Himawari. She gasped for air as she looked up to see Aki standing out of Yon's sight. Himawari nodded her head aknowledging the other Genin's presense who nodded back. After Himawari caught her breath, she pulled out a kunai and placed a paper bomb onto it and threw it. The kunai landed right at the feet of Yon.

"Shit!" Yon yelled and jumped out of the way.

The paper bomb exploded. The explosion knocked down a metal pillar that was holding the catwalk above, breaking it apart. The metal fell ontop of Yon where she had landed after trying to get away from the blast zone of the paper bomb. Himawari slowly walked up to the pile of metal and saw Yon lying in a pool of blood, her skull crushed in by a metal beam and a metal rod piercec through her stomach. Himawari looked away quickly, she couldn't stomach what she had just saw and nearly vomited. Aki came out of hiding and approached Himawari who had tears forming in her eyes.

"I- I only meant to put distance between me..." Himawari said trailing off as her tears were threatening to fall.

"It's ok Hima, this woman was an enemy, it was either you or her," Aki said, trying to assure her fellow Genin.

"I know it's just this was all so difficult for me," replied Himawari.

"Come on, let's get out of here, we don't need to keep looking at this," Aki said. Himawari nodded and the two left the warehouse.

As soon as they left the warehouse, they were found by Sakura and the rest of her team and Himawari's team.

"Himawari, are you okay?" questioned Hiroshi as he ran up to her.

"She's a little shaken up, she managed to kill her opponent," Aki answered for Himawari.

"You okay?" Hiroshi asked again. Himawari nodded.

"Looks like your everyone made it out of this alive," Sakura stated.

"I think we should find Naruto-sensei and tell him we defeated some of these blue cloak wearing ninja," Hiroshi suggested.

"Yes, come on, let's go find Naruto-kun," said Sakura as the young Genin followed her.

* * *

Naruto broke down another door to another warehouse office and looked around it franticly. It was empty, nobody was here.

"Son of a bitch, he's not here either!" Naruto yelled in frustration. However, something caught his eye. The bookcase in the room was slightly angled. He inspected it and found there was a secret doorway behind it. He moved the bookcase to find stairs and went on into darkness.

"Maybe they put him down here," Naruto said to himself and headed down the stairs.

* * *

A man in a blue cloak turned to find a young boy tugging at his cloak.

"What is it Sumi?" the male asked.

"Sho, Ni and San were defeated and headed back to the hideout to recover.

"Useless bastards," the male said.

"Yon, well she was killed," the boy continued.

The man did not say anything but his attention was brought to footsteps coming down the stairs. He was found.

"Sumi, head back to the hideout and attend to Sho, Ni and San's injuries. I believe I'm going to have company and I don't need you here in the way," the man ordered.

"Yes Totosai-sama," the boy replied as he left the hidden room into a hidden tunnel.

* * *

**Translations:**  
**Suiton: Mizuama Nabara:** Water Release: Syrup Capture Field  
**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu:** Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Technique  
**Suiro no Jutsu:** Water Prison Technique  
**Suiton: Mizubashira Shuriken:** Water Release: Waterspout Shuriken  
**Suiton no Jutsu: **Water Release Technique  
**Mizu Sanketsu: **Water Suffocation

**Next: Face To Face**


	18. Face To Face

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Face To Face**

Dawn approached as the sun began to rise. The faint sunlight glittered over the ocean surrounding Nami no Kuni. Ninja battles raged in the West Dock through the night as the sunlight that brightened showed the damage to certain warehouses.

Inari stared out the window of his bedroom as he just woke up to begin his day dealing with the village's needs. He was more focused to the west where the West Dock was located as he worried about the battling that was taking place and all the damage it could have been causing. He couldn't blame Konoha for it because it wasn't their fault it came down to fighting. Inari blamed himself for letting Missing-nin roam around his village undetected. Even more so when the said Missing-nin were the same that killed two Konoha-nin a month ago.

Inari sighed as he walked away from his bedroom window and sat back down on his bed.

* * *

Konohamaru woke up, he was still tied to the chair and the room was still dark. The air had become damp and chilly. Konohamaru remembered something about him being moved so Konoha couldn't find him but he was still in the same place where he past out in. His attention was grabbed when he heard that familiar man's voice from earlier.

"Sumi, head back to the hideout and attend Sho, Ni and San's injuries. I believe I'm going to have company and I don't need you here in the way," the man ordered.

"Yes Totosai-sama," replied a boy.

_'Is someone coming for me?'_ Konohamaru wondered.

* * *

The man wearing a blue cloak waited in the office as he heard the footsteps coming from the stairwell get louder and louder. Then he saw him enter the room, a blonde-haired man wearing Konoha's Jounin attire. He stared right into the man's blue eyes and then saw his forehead protector which had Konoha's symbol on the metal plate.

Naruto stared at the man who was staring at him back. He saw the man's blue cloak and recognized it from the guy he had knocked out quickly earlier in the night.

"You!" Naruto yelled.

"So I see you bastard Konoha ninja managed to find me after all," the man said.

"What? You thought you people could defeat us?" asked Naruto, his tone cold.

"In a way, yes," replied the man.

"Obviously you don't know a thing about Konoha-nin," Naruto said. The man scoffed.

"I know all about Konoha and it's will of fire bullshit and to be honest with you, I believe it's all a waste of time and effort as it costed the lives of all the hokage and hundreds of ninjas," the man said.

"How do you know all that?" asked Naruto. He was surprised of the man's knowledge of Konohagakure.

"Because I'm from Konohagakure," the man confessed.

Naruto stared down the man. At first he didn't believe him, beliving it was a trick and the man was only playing mind games with him.

"You're not from Konoha," Naruto said.

The man didn't reply but just reached into his cloak with his right hand and pulled something out and he tossed it to Naruto's feet. Naruto looked to the ground and his eyes widened as what he saw. Right at his feet was an old forehead protector, the blue cloth that was holding the metal plate had tears and small holes and the design on the metal plate was that of Konoha's symbol.

"I tried to be a proud ninja from Konohagakure but the way my parents and everyone else treated me just made me hate it with a passion until it I decided to defect and travel the world, at least until the day I met _him_ and joined this organization," the man said.

"Why did you parents make you hate the village so much?" asked Naruto.

"Because all they cared about was my brother," the man began. "He had all their attention and everything he did always went right and when I tired I just constantly failed. And instead of helping me, my parents were just ashamed of me."

"Was your brother on your side at least?" asked Naruto.

"No, he made things worse because when I asked him for help he would just laugh and call me stupid or some other crueler names," the man answered.

Naruto didn't say anything but he understood how the man felt. That overwhelming feeling of being unaknowledged, it could tear someone apart then the man began laughing which cut Naruto out of his thoughts.

"A month ago I ran into my brother for the first time since I defected fro Konoha and this time I managed to overpower him and kill him and his slut of a wife!" the man yelled.

Naruto stared the man down. The words the man just spoke hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. After finding out this man killed his brother and wife a month ago here in Nami no Kuni around the same time when Hiroshi's parents were killed, this man had to be Hiroshi's parents killer.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked.

"What's it to you?" the man answered with a question.

"I want to know the name of the bastard that I'm going to kill," Naruto replied.

"If you really must know, just call me Totosai," Totosai replied.

Naruto's eyes widened. He was right, this was the man responsible for Hiroshi's parents' death. Naruto looked to the ground and clenched his hands into fists. Naruto made a promise at that moment that he would kill this man for all the pain he caused Hiroshi. Naruto looked back up at Totosai, rage was evident in the blonde's blue eyes. Totosai was startled just a little bit by the coldness that was being held in the Naruto's eyes.

"You..." Naruto began.

"Hmm?"

"You're the bastard that killed my student's parents!" Naruto said, his voice dripping with anger.

"What are you going on about now?" Totosai asked. He thought the blonde ninja was just going crazy.

"I know who you are now!" Naruto continued, "Your real name is Kurosaki Kami."

"Well will you look at that? You know my real name," Kami said. "Damn kid, you got me. I was using Totosai to avoid any Hunter-nins Konoha might send my way."

Naruto stared Kami down. He was fuming with anger it felt like it was flowing through his veins at that exact moment. It was so intense that even Kurama's power was oozing out just a bit. Naruto knew what he had to do and that was to kill Kami today so Hiroshi wouldn't have to worry about being strong enough to do so. He didn't want Hiroshi to go down the same dark path for revenge like his best friend and former teammate did. Naruto was going to end the cycle of hatred of the Kurosaki clan today.

"Kurosaki Hiroshi is your nephew and you left him in this world an orphan!" yelled Naruto.

"So my brother had a kid, so what?" Kami said, his voice void of any emotion or remorse.

"What the hell do you mean 'So what?'! You killed his parents you son of a bitch!" Naruto continued.

"I don't care about anyone that has anything to do with my parents and my brother!" Kami yelled back.

"You're a cold, heartless monster! I'll make sure to kill you!" Naruto yelled.

Kami smirked, "I finally figured out who you are since you looked so damn familiar, you're that brat that Minato sealed the Kyuubi in, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's anger was washed away at the mere mention of his father's name, "You knew my father?"

"Yes I did, I should of payed attention to you sooner," Kami replied. "You're almost the spitting image of Minato."

Naruto stared at Kami. Just a few seconds ago he was seething with anger and about to go on a homicidal rampage on him but that was all wiped away with the mentioning of his father and now he became curious. After talking and fighting alongisde his father's reanimated person during the Fourth Shinobi War, he still wanted to know a bit more about his father besides being the Fourth Hokage.

"What happened to all this talk about killing me?" Kami asked, "Did me mentioning Minato derail your desire to kill me?"

"I-I didn't know of anyone else tha twould have personally known him," Naruto replied. "The few people in my village that did can't force themselves to talk about him."

Kami looked at Naruto, he was a bit surprised Naruto's emotions changing on a dime.

Naruto had to snap out of it and focus on the task at hand, killing this man for his student.

"Enough of talking about me and my father because I still can't believe you don't care that you orphaned a child!" Naruto yelled.

Kami sighed, "I guess I'll just tell you how I killed them so you can understand how much I don't care!"

**FLASHBACK:**

_The sun was shining high over Nami no Kuni. Two ninja walked to the Great Naruto Bridge. One was male, the other was female. The male had medium length brown hair that covered his ears and had green eyes. He wore Konoha's standard Jounin uniform, the dark blue long sleeve shirt, the green Jounin vest and black Shinobi pants and was wearing open-toe Shinobi sandals. The female had long auburn hair that reaced the middle of her back. She had crystal blue eyes that glimmered in the daytime sun. She too wore the standard Konoha Jounin uniform with a black long sleeve shirt and green Jounin vest._

_"We finally arrived Rin," the man said._

_"I can see that Kenji, I'm not blind," Rin said jokingly and giggled._

_"All joking aside, we need to find Tazuna-sama so we can get this trading deal done," Kenji said._

_The two Konoha-nin entered the village and began searching for the Tazuna Residence._

**FLASHBACK PAUSE.**

"I was watching nearby when I saw my brother and his bitch enter the village, I knew I was going to kill him before he could leave back to Konoha," Kami said.

**FLASHBACK CONTINUED:**

_Before the two Konoha-nin could walk any further into town, a man in his early to mid-twenties approached them._

_"Are you the diplomats from Konohagakure to negotiate a trading deal?" the young man asked politely._

_"Um, yeah we are," Kenji said, he was a bit surprised the man knew. "I am looking for Tazuna-san."_

_The young man looked at the ground, "Unfortunately, Tazuna-ojiisan recently died from an illness he could never recover from. Ny name is Inari, I now oversee operations here in Nami no Kuni."_

_"Oh my, our apologies, Inari-sama," said Rin._

_"It's quite alright, you didn't know," Inari replied, smiling. "How about I get you lunch first and then we can begin negotiating a deal around 1 p.m.?"_

_"Sure," Kenji answered._

_"What a nice young man," Rin said._

_"Let's go see what kind of food this country has to offer," Kenji said with a huge stupid smile on his face._

_Rin sighed, "You and your love for food, dear."_

_Kenji laughed and the two walked down the street, entering the resturant Inari had led them to. Unbeknownst to them, a man wearing a blue cloak had been following them since they entered the village._

_"Foolish brother, I am surprised to see you again after all these years. I think it's time I repay you for all the times you had made me suffer!"_

* * *

_Kenji and Rin walked down the road leading to the Great Naruto Bridge when a man in a blue cloak appeared in front of Kenji and Rin._

_"What the hell is the meaning of this?!" questioned Kenji._

_The man with long brown hair lifted his head up and when the sunlight revealed the man's face, Kenji gasped._

_"What are you doing here Kami?" asked Kenji "I didn't know you were even still alive."_

_"To kill you," Kami replied interrupting Kenji._

_"Huh? Kill me?" Kenji asked. He was confused as to what was going on with Kami._

_Rin began to worry and started pulling on Kenji's arm._

_"Honey, who is this? Why does he want to kill you?" she whispered._

_"He's my brother," Kenji answered back, "I don't know why he wants to kill me."_

_"You don't know!? Of course you don't know, you were too busy gloating around because of how good you were and taking in all of Mother and Father's attention while I was left hanging out to dry. When we became ninjas, you became the popular one and you never stood up for me when Father and Mother began talking down to me and when I asked you for help in training, you would just laugh and tell me I'm too stupid to learn it. Then when you made Jounin you downright acted like I wasn't even part of the family at all!" Kami yelled._

_"Kami, are you crazy or something?" Kenji began, "You're twisting the past around, I did defend you from Father and Mother and the reason I didn't train you is because you were better than me in our family's ninjutsu, in fact, I was jealous of _you_ since you could learn the ninjutsu faster than I did. I wanted your help but you never believed in yourself enough to help me out."_

_"Bullshit! Everything you say is bullshit!" Kami yelled as he pulled out his katana. "We fight here to the death!"_

_"Kami, stop this, you're my brother and I love you. I know Father was a prick to you and I admit I should have been around more to protect you from him, but I was young and stupid back then, can't we just put the past all behind us and start fresh, I'm willing to..."_

_"No!" Kami interrupted. "It's because of you and Father and Mother that I ended up in this organization because you pushed me away so far that I left the village to get away from it!"_

_Kami pointed at the blue cloak and Kenji looked._

_"So that's it huh? You became a member of the Tatsumaki?" asked Kenji._

_"Yes, all because of my hatred for my family and the village made me met _him_ and was forced to join the Tatsumaki!" Kami yelled. "What's even worse than everything I went through at home was the fact when I did defect from Konoha, you didn't even come looking for me!"_

_"That's a lie!" Kenji yelled, "I looked for you for three fucking months!"_

_"Stop lying! You're nothing but a God damn liar!" yelled Kami._

_"I would have continued searching but the Godaime Hokage stopped me from going and placed you as a Missing-nin," Kenji cotninued._

_Kami didn't want to hear anymore of his brother's bullshit excuses and walked towards his brother silently. Kenji signaled Rin to run but she didn't want to leave Kenji alone. Kenji pushed Rin out of the way to get her to run. She ran away a little, but turned around._

_"I'm not going to fight you brother," Kenji said as tears began forming in his eyes._

_"You don't have the right to call me that anymore so just shut up and die you bastard!" Kami yelled and slashed Kenji with his katana._

_Rin's eyes widened as she saw Kami's katana slice through Kenji's abdomen. She could see the blood splatter on the ground. Kami walked a few steps backwards as Kenji fell to his knees. Kami just stood over Kenji, he held no emotion or remorse for what he had just done. Rin could only do one thing, run over to Kenji._

_"Kenji!" Rin yelled as she began to cry harder and harder. She cried for ten minutes as Kami just stood there and watch Kenji die, bleeding out from his abdomen. He contemplated killing the woman too but decided against it. He all he wanted to do was kill his brother as revenge for all the suffering he and his parents caused him. Kami turned and walked away._

_"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Rin yelled as she stood up taking a kunai out from her kunai pouch._

_"I'm going back to my primary mission here," Kami said as he kept walking away._

_Rin, not thinking with a clear head, charged at Kami with her kunai. Kami sensed her coming and sighed. He waited for the exact moment. The moment came and Kami turned around quickly and slashed Rin in her abdomen as well. Rin dropped her kunai to clinch the wound Kami made with his katana. She fell to her knees. She looked down to see the blood spilling out where the slash was made._

_"You should of just left me alone," Kami began, "I spared you becaue my brother's life was the only one I wanted to take."_

_Rin looked up at Kami while she bleed to death. Kami took his katana and slashed the woman's throat to make sure she didn't come after him again. The blood splashed everywhere. Some of it hitting Kami's face. Rin's body fell to the ground. He looked at the woman he just killed and back at his brother, no remorse. He turned and walked away._

**END OF FLASHBACK.**

Naruto stared at Kami, sickened by the story he just heard. Kami was as cold as ice and no matter what he could say, it wasn't going to change the man. Naruto clenched his hands into fists again.

"You're just a self-centered, cold-blooded murderer that was just bent on revenge!" Naruto yelled, "You heartless bastard!"

"I did not wish to kill the woman, I only did what I thought needed to be done to defend myself," Kami said.

"You knew you were stronger than her, you could have just knocked her unconscious if you really only wanted to kill your own brother!" Naruto yelled.

"Amazingly that thought never even crossed my mind," Kami said bluntly.

"You son of a bitch!" yelled Naruto and charged at Kami.

When Naruto got close to him, Kami just pushed Naruto's arm down and grabbed the collar of his Jounin vest and flippsed Naruto over his head and slammed Naruto down into the ground on his back hard.

"I don't wish to fight today," Kami began. "I know you're here to rescue the prisoner I have. Can't we negotiate a deal instead of this meaningless fighting?"

Naruto stood up staring down Kami.

"If you weren't a cold-hearted bastard who killed Hiroshi's parents, maybe I would have considered the slight possibility of making a bogus deal with you just to get Konohamaru back, but since you **are** that bastard, I'm going to kill you right here, right now!" Naruto yelled.

Kami sighed, "It's a pity really, but if you want to fight that badly, so be it, let's fight."

Kami walked passed Naruto and began walking up the stairwell. Naruto turned and looked at Kami confused. He wanted to fight so why was he going back upstairs for?

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?! We are fighting right now!" Naruto yelled.

Kami stopped but he didn't turn around, "Well go outside and have our fight, I don't particularly want to mess up my office."

Kami continued walking back upstairs. Halfway up the stairwell, a man wearing a blue cloak with snow white hair came downstairs. The two stopped in the middle of the stairwell.

"Get our hostage out of the back room in my office and bring him outside," Kami whispered.

"Hai, Totosai-sama," the man whispered back.

Naruto walked to the stairwell and began walking upstairs. About a quarter of the way, he saw a man with snow white hair and the same blue cloak Kami was wearing passed him gonig down stairs. The man looked familiar but Naruto pushed the concern out of his head so he could focus his mind on his current task which was killing Kurosaki Kami.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had it written out but didn't like how it came out so I ended up rewriting it which I got done but unforseen events in my life left me no time to get it uploaded but I finally found the time to do so so I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was a filler (which I like to call a transition chapter which is what I like to call chapters that lead up to a major battle in my stories). There will be more background insight on Totosai/Kami later on in the fic.**

**Next: Decision**


	19. Decision

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Decision**

Naruto followed Totosai upstairs to the main floor of the warehouse where they headed outside onto the docks. Naruto's rage was flowing through his veins boiling his blood. His blind rage however disappeared when he realized what he had overheard in the stairwell. Konohamaru was going to be brought out and as much as Naruto wanted to kill Totosai, the main mission was to rescue Konohamaru. Naruto vowed he will kill the bastard, it just won't be right at this moment. Naruto stopped and Totosai didn't notice as he kept walking towards an open field nearby. Naruto created a replication to keep following Totosai as Naruto himself ran back to the warehouse.

Once inside, he ran back down the stairs to the basement where he found a man with snow-white hair manhandling Konohamaru.

"Hey, let me go you bastard!" Konohamaru yelled.

"Just shut up and go!" the man yelled back.

"Alright you piece of shit, let him go!" Naruto said. Konohamaru looked to see Naruto standing by the stairwell.

"Naruto-niisan!"

The man holding Konohamaru look at Naruto, trying to figure him out. He realized who it was.

"Hey! You're that punk that knocked me out earlier!" he yelled.

"You know I thought you looked familiar. Now I know it won't be so difficult to beat you down," Naruto said.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Naruto yelled as five replications appeared.

The man let go of Konohamaru as he prepared himself for a fight

"And since you were so easy to beat earlier, I'll go ahead and use a classic move of mine, something I haven't used in years so I don't have to waste my chakra on any other technique," Naruto said.

Three of Naruto's replications ran behind the man as a fourth kneeled down on all fours. Naruto himself ran and jumped off the replication on the ground and began somersaulting in the air. A fifth clone that was behind the real Naruto ran up to the white-haired man and hit him in the jaw with an uppercut. The three replications that ran behind the man kicked him in the back and up into the air.

"**U. Zu. Maki**," the replications chanted.

"**Naruto Rendan**!" yelled the real Naruto who slammed his foot into the man's face.

The force of Naruto's foot to the man's face caused him to fall straight into the floor, face first. Blood splattered on the floor around his nose and mouth. He hit the floor so hard, it knocked him unconscious for the second time in one night. Naruto turned to Konohamaru, who's hands were still bound. He took out a kunai and cut off the ropes.

"You alright?" Naruto asked.

"I think so," Konohamaru replied. "Although my head still hurts from when I was hit over the head the other day."

"I just have one question though, why didn't you just use the **Nawanuke no Jutsu**?" Naruto asked.

"That Totosai guy told me these were chakra binding ropes and if I used any, they would just drain me of my chakra," Konohamaru explained.

"Well I guess you can't do anything about that then," Naruto said. "Come on, let's get you out so you can find Kakashi-sensei."

"Why are you not going?" asked Konohamaru.

"I have something I need to do first," replied Naruto.

"What do you mean you have something to do first, wasn't your mission to rescue me?" asked Konohamaru.

"Look, you won't understand until you have a team of your own, but I have to go back out there and kill Totosai. It's a personal fight," answered Naruto.

"Personal?" Konohamaru asked.

"He killed one of my student's parents in cold blood," Naruto replied as his anger was becoming the best of him again. It scared Konohamaru.

"Just go find Kakashi-sensei, I need to go kill Totosai," Naruto said.

Konohamaru nooded and ran upstairs with Naruto following suit.

* * *

Totosai stopped in an open field where he was about to have his battle with Naruto. He turned around to focus on Naruto.

"This will be interesting, two Jounin's fighting," Totosai said.

Naruto scoffed, "You're a Missing-nin, you don't have rank anymore."

"As true as your statement may be, I am still Jounin level. Don't think for a second I'll underestimate your abilities though, you are the Kyuubi container after all," said Totosai.

Naruto's fists tightened, "It's been a while since I was viewed like that and it still bugs the shit out of me."

"Actually I just see you as an enemy who is getting in the way of accomplishing the goals of the Tatsumaki," Totosai said.

"Tatsumaki?" Naruto questioned.

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of us, we've been working on the otherside of the world for the longest time and now we've made our appearence here," Totosai explained. "Although I don't think we'll ever be well known as the Akatsuki became."

"Either way, I'm still going to kill you right here if it's the last thing I do!" yelled Naruto.

"Very well then," Totosai said. He then began performing hand seals, "**Katon: Karyuu Endan**!"

A missle of flames came out of Totosai's mouth and hit Naruto head on. Totosai smirked thinking the fight was over as quickly as it began. When the smoke from his jutsu cleared, Naruto wasn't anywhere to be found.

"What the...? He disappeared!" Totosai said to himself as he looked around his surroundings to find any trace of the Konoha-nin.

"Up here dipshit!" yelled Naruto.

Totosai looked up but he only caught a small glimpse of the ninja as Naruto jumped off the nearby tree and slammed a kunai into his skull or at least Naruto thought until Totosai turned into mud.

"A mud replicaton," Naruto said to himself.

Naruto looked around for Totosai and he couldn't find him. Naruto then closed his eyes to begin to blend his chakra with the natural energy around him to enter sage mode. However, Totosai appeared behind Naruto and stabbed him in the back with his own Kunai, however, Naruto disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin, I should of known better," said Totosai.

Naruto appeared in front of Totosai and then disappeared and reappeared behind him in a blink of an eye. Totosai caught a glimpse of Naruto glowing yellow.

_'That speed,_' Totosai thought.

Before Totosai could react to anything, he heard Naruto yell.

"**Futon: Rasenrenshuriken**!"

**0000**

"Where could Naruto-sensei be?" Himawari asked as she frantically searched for her sensei in the docks.

"I bet he's having an awesome battle right now," Hiroshi added.

"I hope Naruto-kun is okay," Sakura said.

Before the continued on through the docks, they heard an explosion. Sakura turned to find smoke coming from a nearby field.

"What was that?" Shiro asked.

"I believe we just found Naruto-kun," Sakura answered.

"Let's go check it out then," suggested Hiroshi.

Sakura and the Genin ran off toward the direction of the explosion to see if it was Naruto.

* * *

As the smoked clear, Naruto, who was in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode as yellow chakra engulfed him. Black markings running across his neck and down to his legs. His eyes had slits like a fox and a horizontal line for his Sage Mode. However, Naruto's target was no where in sight.

"Such power," Totosai spoke who was standing nearby behind Naruto. "In the end, I underestimated your abilities without trying to."

Naruto noticed something, Totosai was in Sage Mode as well. It took Naruto by surprise. The speed that is enhanced by Sage Mode might of saved Totosai's life.

"Although you've clearly combined the powers of the Kyuubi and Sage, you're not the only one who knows Sage mode," continued Totosai. "But I must say I'm impressed with your skills."

Totosai went silent as he lifted the sleeve of his cloak which revealed a tatoo on his arm. Naruto knew exactly what he was going to do, so before Totosai could do it, he attack.

Naruto quickly created an replication who began creating a black ball in Naruto's right hand. And with quick speed, Naruto uses a chakra arm to extend it out towards Totosai.

"**Chou Mini Bijudama**!" Naruto yelled as he slammed the ball at Totosai who was caught off guard by keeping his focus on summoning.

Once the smoke cleared, Totosai had managed to summon a massive Jaguar to guard him from the attack. This infuriated Naruto more because he wanted Totosai dead, and this guy was keeping up with him. How the hell can this guy's Sage Mode stand up to his Nine-Tails Sage Mode?

"So I was called here to be some sort of shield for you!" the large cat yelled.

'_I knew this was a bad idea,'_ thought Totosai as he sighed.

"Are you going to explain yourself or what?" asked the Jaguar.

"I needed help containing that monster over there," Totosai said pointing to Naruto.

The jaguar looked over at Naruto and shook his head. He knew exactly what he was up against.

"No thank you, I'm not fighting a Jinchuuriki who has that much of an expert control of the beast inside of him," the Jaguar said and disappeared.

"Shit!" Totosai said frustrated his own summon wouldn't help him fight.

With Totosai's summon refusing to battle for him, Naruto knew it was his chance to kill him knowing full well Totosai's Sage Mode would soon run out. Naruto began tapping into all the chakra of the tailed beasts. Naruto's appearence began to change. Naruto's body turned black, but markings around his neck and a circle around his stomach still glowed along with a glowing cloak and his hair. Nine black balls formed behind him. Along with carrying two black rods.

Naruto tapped in with Kurama's chakra pumps it into one of the black balls as well as pumping in his wind-natured chakra into it.

"**Bijudama Rasenshuriken**!" yelled Naruto as he threw it.

* * *

Hiroshi finally ran out of the docks through a wooded area before finally reaching the field where they heard an explosion earlier. As soon as he got to the clearing another explosion rocked the field with smoke expanding out everywhere.

"What the hell is going on over there?" asked Hiroshi.

Once the smoked clear, Hiroshi could see Naruto who was looking different. He didn't know how Naruto could look so different.

"What's wrong with Naruto-sensei!?" Hiroshi panicked.

"He's just using his powers," Sakura said who walked up behind him.

"Powers?" asked Hiroshi.

"That's his Six Paths Sage Mode," replied Sakura. Hiroshi looked at her confused but she smiled, "For now, just go with the fact it makes Naruto-kun extremely strong."

Hiroshi noticed someone approaching from behind Naruto and he thought his sensei didn't know and took off running toward him.

"Hiroshi don't, he can sense anyone around him!" Sakura yelled but Hiroshi didn't hear her and she looked at Himawari and Shiro, "You two stay put ok?"

The two Genin nodded as Sakura went after Hiroshi before he got himself hurt.

* * *

Naruto looked at the broken body of Totosai who began coughing up blood. The attack hit its mark and completely left Totosai completely defenseless. The attack tore off his limbs as he bleed out from each area where a limb used to be.

"You think you have me don't you?" he said between coughs.

"Looks like it," replied Naruto.

The body stopped moving as Naruto thought he had finally defeated Totosai. Then he felt a presence coming up from behind him and he readied himself for an attack.

"Naruto-sensei, watch out!" yelled out Hiroshi.

Naruto turned to see Hiroshi throw several kunai at the man approaching him from behind. It was the same white-haired man that Naruto knocked out earlier while trying to save Konohamaru.

The white-haired man dodged the kunai with ease as he turned to the boy.

"Roku, kill the boy!" a voice yelled out. Naruto looked around but couldn't find anyone.

Roku turned his attention away from Naruto and headed for the boy. He didn't get too far as a chakra arm grabbed Roku. Naruto then threw Roku across the field and away from the battle.

Thinking the battle was over, he released his Six Path Sage Mode and return to his normal state.

"Hiroshi, thanks for helping me out but what the hell were you thinking?" Naruto said as he scolded the boy a bit.

"I know Naruto-sensei, I just wanted to help."

Naruto sighed and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "It's okay, but please what have I said about making rash decisions like that?"

Naruto and Hiroshi then heard some laughter coming from the woods. It sounded like Totosai but how? Naruto just killed the man. Naruto looked at the body and noticed the face changed to someone entirely different.

"What the hell?" asked Naruto. He recalled the Akatsuki using this kind of jutsu back when he was on a mission to rescue Gaara from the organization.

"How cliche right? Taking a jutsu from another organization," the familiar voice said as the man walked out of the shadows revealing himself to be Totosai. "It was quite helpful in fooling you thinking I was dead."

"You are the fool for showing yourself after this, the real you." Naruto said.

"How would you know if I'm really me? I could be another person disguised like me and using my jutsu," Totosai said.

"Hiroshi, I need you to head over there to Sakura-chan." Naruto said pointing to his girlfriend who stopped midway trying to stop Hiroshi from entering the battle.

Totosai began laughing at Naruto's commands to the boy. Naruto turned his attention back to Totosai.

"And what the hell do you think is so funny?" asked Naruto who now became angry.

"It's just the way you talk to the boy, as if you are his father," replied Totosai.

Hiroshi stared at Totosai, something about the man seemed familiar to him but Hiroshi couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

"I talk to him as my student and as a friend." Naruto stated.

"I see what's going on here, he doesn't know who I really am and you're trying to keep it that way," pointed Totosai.

Hiroshi looked up at Naruto confused, "What does he mean, Naruto-sensei?"

"It's nothing, don't listen to him." Naruto replied.

"Ha! You're doing it right now and right in front of me!" Totosai mocked.

"Leave the boy out of this!" yelled Naruto. "This is just between you and me!"

Hiroshi didn't understand what was going on between the two men. He did know Naruto knew something that he wasn't telling him. The man in the blue cloak Naruto was fighting, he seemed so familiar and it was bugging him because he couldn't figure it out.

"Who are you?" asked Hiroshi.

"I'm..." Totosai began but was cut off.

"Hiroshi, it's none of your concern, head back over to Sakura-chan like I told you, that's an order!" Naruto commanded.

Hiroshi looked at the man and then back at Naruto, "Naruto-sensei please, I want to know who he is."

"My real name is Kurosaki Kami, but I go by Totosai," Totosai admitted.

Hiroshi's eyes widened with shock and fear. Standing right there and fighting his sensei, was the very killer of his parents. The shock and fear was quickly replaced with anger and hate as if the name itself just blew open the gates that were holding those emotions back for so long. Hiroshi then clenched his fists and turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-sensei, I wish to fight him," said Hiroshi.

Naruto looked at Hiroshi as if the boy was crazy.

"No, I cannot let you fight him! He's way too far above..."

"I wasn't asking if I can, I'm saying I am going to fight him," Hiroshi said with great venom. It wasn't something Naruto heard from the boy before.

Totosai stared at the boy, he was amused about the boy's outburst.

"I know you want to fight him but you can't, I thought I just killed him and he's still here! Go back to Sakura-chan now!" Naruto said.

"He killed my parents and if I can't kill him today, I'll train with you Naruto-sensei to get stronger so one day I can kill him!" Hiroshi stated.

"I can't convince you otherwise, now can I?" asked Naruto.

"No!" Hiroshi replied. Naruto bend down to the boy.

"Fine, I'll let you distract him so I can recharge my chakra a bit so I can re-enter Six Paths Sage Mode again, but once I'm there, I'm taking over, got it?" Naruto whispered.

Hiroshi nodded and stepped forward, "Alright, it's just you and me now."

Totosai began to laugh, "Do you really expect me to fight you? You're just a kid barely learning the cruel ways of being a ninja."

"You're underestimating me, you forget we come from the same family, we have the strongest Earth Ninjutsu!" Hiroshi boasted.

Totosai laughing stopped and he stared the boy down, "Fine, I'll play a little but it will be a quick defeat that will be on your hands."

"I don't care, I just want to see what I'm really up against and how much I need to improve," Hiroshi admitted.

'_Damn it Hiroshi, you just revealed too much of what you're planning to do already,_' Naruto thought as he watched his student. '_I'm going to need to recharge quickly to get back into Six Paths Sage to bail Hiroshi out.'_

Hiroshi stared down Totosai to see who was going to make the first move. Just what would come of this battle? Deep down inside, the boy knew he wasn't going to win against his uncle. He just wanted to see where his strengths and weaknesses lied

'_If I lose this fight, I'll make sure to seak Naruto-sensei's help in preparing me for the final battle later on.'_

* * *

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** Shadow Replication Technique  
**Uzumaki Naruto Rendan:** Uzumaki Naruto Combo  
**Nawanuke no Jutsu:** Rope Escape Technique  
**Katon: Karyuu Endan: **Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet  
**Futon: Rasenrenshuriken:** Spiraling Repeated Shuriken  
**Chou Mini Bijudama: **Super Mini-Tailed Beast Bomb  
**Bijudama Rasenshuriken:** Tailed Beast Bomb Rasenshuriken

**Next Up: Mistake**


	20. Mistake

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**[Rescue Konohamaru Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Mistake**

Dawn quickly turned to mid-morning as the sunlight filled the office of the Hokage. The blonde-haired woman was passed out on her desk showing overnight work of drinking too much. She had been stressing over the events that were playing out in Nami no Kuni was too much so she felt the need to drink the problem away. The brightness of the room forced the Hokage to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes and slowly raised her head from the desk. Piercing pain shot through her head to the back of her neck. The headache the reminder of a night of drinking too much and from sleeping in an unusual position. The door to her office opened quickly as a brunette walked in.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama, you're awake after all."

Tsunade groaned, "Yes Shizune, I am. Any word on Konohamaru?"

"The ANBU just reported a battle was being carried out by Naruto-kun and a brown-haired man wearing a blue cloak with a symbol on the back," replied Shizune."

"Brown haired man with a blue cloak huh?" Tsunade said, mainly to herself. "No doubt it's Kurosaki Kami and that means he's involved with the Tatsumaki."

"Tatsumaki?" questioned Shizune. "Who are they?"

"I don't know much about them, but members of Jiraiya's old spy network told me of a group of Missing-nin from unknown territories further east from Kirigakure. I'm waiting on more information as we speak," answered Tsunade.

* * *

Sunlight shined over the destruction the ninja battles have taken place in the West Dock of Nami no Kuni. Several of the warehouses were damaged in some way. Now at a new battlefield stood Hiroshi about to go toe-to-toe with Totosai as Naruto watched and gathered natural energy to re-enter Sage Mode. Kakashi, along with Konohamaru appeared on the battlefield with Sakura with her team and the rest of Naruto's team looking on.

"Why did you kill my parents!?" yelled Hiroshi.

Totosai stayed silent while Hiroshi was impatiently waiting for an answer. He didn't want to wait any longer and began performing hand seals and fast for a Genin.

'_Impossible, how can a Genin perform hand seals that fast! That is even faster than Kenji and myself.'_

Totosai didn't waste time to counterattack and performed the same hand seals.

"**Doton: Hashira no Zetsumei**!" they both yelled.

Large, shaprned spikes of dirt and rock broke out of the ground. Totosai dodged all the ones that came out of the ground near him. Hiroshi, being a Genin, had trouble dodging them on his side.

Naruto watched as he continued to gather natural energy, '_I need to hurry up, this isn't looking good for Hiroshi. Since they're in the same family, Totosai is just going to counter everything Hiroshi does._'

"You really think your ninjutsu is going to beat me?" Totosai asked. "We're both from the Kurosaki clan, all the jutsu you know, I also know."

Hiroshi stopped performing hand seals and let what Totosai just said sink in, '_Damn it, he's right. I don't know what to do now, I can't beat him with family ninjutsu_'

'_I don't have time to be dicking around with a kid, I'll end this quickly with a Genjutsu and escape._'

Totosai began performing hand seals. Hiroshi got ready to counter it, but he didn't recognize the hand seals. Once Totosai performed the last hand seal, a swirl of leaves whirled around Hiroshi. Hiroshi waited for pain or something to come at him.

'_That didn't do anything._'

Naruto's eyes widned when he realized what was going on.

"Fuck! It's a Genjutsu!" yelled Naruto.

"It's going to be okay, he can just block his chakra off to end it," Kakashi said. "It's not like it's a Genjutsu from the Uchiha clan."

Naruto slapped his forhead, "I haven't gotten around to teaching them out to escape illusions."

"Oh, then he's screwed," Kakashi said.

Hiroshi smirked thinking Totosai's jutsu didn't work but then something came into his view. It was his parents. He looked around, he didn't find Totosai, Naruto-sensei or even the rest of his team. It was just him and his parents. A big wave of happiness rushed through Hiroshi's veins thinking it was real.

"Kaa-san, Otou-san?" Hiroshi called out.

On the battlefield, Kakashi and Naruto heard Hiroshi call out for his mother and father as he walked closer to Totosai. Naruto cursed himself for allowing Hiroshi to fight Totosai, he shouldn't of let the boy do it. Naruto rushed over to Hiroshi, he was going to have to break the Genjutsu himself.

Back in Hiroshi's Genjutsu, Hiroshi approached his parents who smiled warmly at him. Hiroshi's happiness faded when Totosai suddenly appeared behind his parents wielding a sword and brought it up in the air to slash at his parents.

"Kaa-san, Otou-san, watch out!" Hiroshi yelled. They didn't move and only kept their warm smile as Totosai's sword slashed through them. Blood splattered everywhere as the two bodies fell to the ground. Hiroshi fell to his knees and began to cry hard.

"You're too weak, you couldn't save them," Totosai laughed.

Naruto saw Hiroshi fall to his knees and began crying hard. Naruto reached the boy and placed his hand on Hiroshi's shoulder and pumped his chakra through the boy to cancel the Genjutsu. Hiroshi felt the warm rush of chakra go through him and looked up to find his parents bloody bodies were no longer around. He found Naruto standing above him with his hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto-sensei, what just happened?" asked Hiroshi. "I swear I just saw my parents get killed right in front of me."

"It was a Genjutsu, an illusion," Naruto explained. "He controlled your mind and made you see what he wanted you to see."

Hiroshi slowly rose back to his feet. He was still shaking with fear and tears were still escaping from his eyes. He collapsed and fell into unconciousness. Naruto picked up the boy and walked back to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, take him to Sakura-chan," said Naruto.

Kakashi nodded and took the boy from Naruto and started walking across the field to where Sakura and her team along with the rest of Naruto's team were standing.

"Let me get this straight," Naruto began, "You kill two people in cold blood but a child you..."

"I gain nothing from killing a child," Totosai interrupted. "Killing my brother and his whore was personal."

Naruto clenched his fists, "You're a sick bastard!"

Naruto quickly went into Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and used his chakra arm to grab Totosai. He tossed Totosai around like a rag doll. Throwing him into the ground and into trees.

Sakura looked on as tears formed in her eyes, she hadn't seen her Naruto so angry in a long time and she had to admit it was kind of scary to see him like that again.

"He'll be fine," Kakashi said as he placed his hand on the pinkette's shoulder.

After Naruto was done wearing Totosai out, his chakra arm held him against a tree while he formed a Rasenshuriken in his hand and charged forward. While pinned to the tree, Totosai managed to make one hand seal as a swirl of leaves danced around Naruto as he charged. Naruto smirked.

"I'm not using my own chakra for this so a Genjutsu isn't going to work on me and Kurama's far too powerful to be affected by that weak Genjutsu!" Naruto yelled as he charged.

"Rasenshuriken!" yelled Naruto as he slammed his hand into the tree. Everything around the area began to be ripped apart by the force of his jutsu.

"Wow, that was an extremely powerful attack," said Ankoku.

"My sensei is the best," Himawari added. She realized what she said and covered her mouth, "Heh, sorry Sakura-sensei."

Sakura looked down at the girl and smiled, "No it's okay, you're not wrong."

When the smoke cleared, Naruto who was now out of his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, gasped when he saw a sphere of sand covering Totosai.

"You've got to be kidding me!" yelled Naruto.

The sand fell to the ground and revealed Totosai, unharmed. He began laughing evilly. He then sensed a familiar presence behind him and he looked to fnd a boy.

"What do you want Sumi? I'm in the middle of battle!" he yelled.

"Sorry Totosai-sama, _he_ wants you to pull out. _He_ said you've gotten the organization some unwanted attention from the people of this land."

Naruto quickly tried to go back into Nine-Tails Chakra mode but several other members from the Tatsumaki showed up and stood in front of Totosai.

"Let's go, _He _wants us to fall back, we failed in our mission here." Totosai said.

Suddenly they were gone. Naruto clenched his fists and was about to go after them when Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulder. Naruto turned to his former mentor.

"You're in no condition to go after them, you've used a lot of chakra. Besides, we've got Konohamaru back.

"God damn it," Naruto said under his breath as he clenched his hands into fists out of anger. He didn't care about the other members, he just wanted Totosai to finish him off once and for all.

Naruto followed Kakashi to where Sakura and her team were standing along with Himawari, Shiro and Hiroshi. Hiroshi was still unconscious.

"Naruto-sensei, is Hiroshi-kun going to be all right?" Himawari asked.

Naruto bent down and picked the unconscious boy but it wasn't Naruto to answer, it was Sakura.

"He'll be fine, you weren't watching, but I used my medical ninjutsu to heal his mind. He's just sleeping now," she said.

Himawari felt relieved. Naruto, who didn't really here what was said between Sakura and Himawari as he stared at the boy.

'_This kid has a lot of chakra. After fighting three battles in one night,_' Naruto thought.

All the Konoha-nin walked out of the West Dock area, or at least what was left of it after the major battles between them on the mysterious Tatsumaki.

* * *

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura entered Inari's office in the buisness district of Nami. Their Genin, along with Konohamaru who was given the task to watch over them, were back at the hotel where they were given to stay in to rest.

"We managed to rescue Konohamaru but those Missing-nin managed to escape but..." Naruto started.

"The West Dock has been badly damaged by them," Kakashi finished.

Inari sighed and nodded, "It's okay, I knew it was going to happen but you don't have to worry, I won't blame you for the damage."

The three Jounin bid farewell and headed back to the hotel where they would rest before heading back to Konohagakure.

* * *

Naruto was in his hotel room alone as Sakura went to check on her Genin. He was going to do the same but Konohamaru told him they were fine, Hiroshi had finally woke up and was talking a bit with Himawari and Shiro and was told to rest.

Naruto couldn't rest, he felt like a failure for not being able to kill Totosai. Then it hit him, the sand that was protecting him after the smoke cleared from his Rasenshuriken. It looked like the same sand that Akuma was using while fighting with Kakashi.

"That's it, the only way I'm going to be able to kill Totosai or Kami or whatever the hell is name is, I'm going to have to pick off the other ones first," Naruto said.

Finally feeling better about himself, he laid down and was about to doze off when the door to his room opened up. He looked up and saw Sakura walking in.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," the pinkette said as she walked over to the bed.

Naruto stood up from the bed as the girl wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and the two kissed passionately. Sakura broke the kiss and stared the blonde in his deep blue eyes.

"When you were fighting that guy and saw how angry you were, it scared me a bit. Kind of had a flashback to that time on Tenchi Bridge."

"I'm sorry," said Naruto.

"And I know I shouldn't worry because you have complete control over the fox now but still,"

Naruto smiled and kissed Sakura again. He pulled her around and pushed her to the bed. The girl giggled as Naruto jumped on top of her and continued to kiss her passionately.

* * *

Morning came and it was time to return back to Konoha. Naruto and Sakura packed their bags.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, he felt like Sakura wasn't herself.

The girl smiled, "I'm fine, just a sore."

Naruto nodded and finished packing his bag. Once they were done they left the room. Naruto and Sakura shared a quick kiss as they both went seperate ways to wake up their teams.

Naruto walked a few doors down and knocked, Shiro opened the door. Naruto walked inside. Naruto saw Hiroshi packing his bag.

"How are you feeling Hiroshi?" asked Naruto.

"Fine," Hiroshi replied.

"He's been like that all night, giving one word answers to all our questions," Shiro whispered.

"It's fine, he's had some sort of tramatizing experience in that Genjutsu, it's going to take some time," Naruto whispered back.

"You guys ready?" asked Naruto.

"I believe so," Himawari answered walking out of the bathroom.

"Let's get going then," said Naruto.

* * *

"Again, we're sorry about what happened in the West Dock," Kakashi sad.

"Don't worry about it, I blame those Missing-nin for everything," Inari assured.

"It was good seeing you again," said Naruto.

"Yes same, please come back and visit more often," said Inari.

"Sure thing," Naruto said.

The Konoha-nin began walking across The Great Naruto Bridge to head back home. Inari turned and headed to the west dock to asses the damage.

When he reached the dock, he was in total shock.

"Badly damaged? It's almost totaled!" yelled Inari. He sighed and left the West Dock to head to his office. He was going to have a hard time explaining this one to the villagers.

* * *

Once the Konoha-nin returned home, it was now late evening, they had been traveling all day and were once again very tired.

"It sure feels good to be home," said Naruto.

"Yeah," added Sakura.

"We should debrief with Tsunade before heading home," Kakashi said.

Naruto and Sakura nodded. Naruto turned to his team.

"Alright guys, you get some real good rest, I'll make sure to have Tsunade-baachan give us a couple of days off to recover, you're dismissed," said Naruto.

Sakura turned to her team, "Same with you three, you guys are dismissed."

"What about me?" asked Konohamaru.

"I think you need to come with us," replied Sakura.

"Damn it," said Konohamaru.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting at her desk when she heard a knock.

"Come in!" yelled Tsunade.

The door opened and Shizune walked in.

"Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Konohamaru have returned for Nami," Shizune said.

"Bring them in," Tsunade ordered.

Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Konohamaru walked into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade looked at Konohamaru, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I had a nice bump on my head by Sakura-san cured that," answered Konohamaru.

"Did they ask you any questions about Konoha?" she continued.

"No, they didn't say much of anything to me," replied Konohamaru. "They never interrogated me at all."

"Strange, alright Konohamaru, you're dismissed," said Tsunade.

Konohamaru bowed and left the office.

"So what happened?" asked Tsunade.

"The only thing I can connect is that every Missing-nin we ran to had the same blue cloak and a symbol that looked like a tornado and Kurosaki Kami a.k.a. Totosai is among them," Kakashi answered.

"As I feared, I was told some information by Jiraiya's old spy network, they call themselves Tatsumaki. I do not know who is in this organization but they were able to find out their leader is a ninja from a land further east than Kirigakure." Tsunade revealed.

"I did realize after speaking with the Genin, that each of these Tatsumaki members do not use their real names, they just referred to themselves as numbers," Kakashi said. "However, I do know one's real name."

"And who is that?"

"One of the Tatsumaki is named Sunaarashi Akuma," replied Kakashi.

"Sunaarashi? Impossible, Sunagakure ordered the assassination of that clan!" Tsunade said.

"That's what I thought, but he revealed when Suna-nin began assassinating the clan, they hid a child to exact revenge on Sunagakure, that child was this Akuma." Kakashi revealed.

"Did they say what they were after at all?" asked Tsunade.

"No, they didn't tell us anything about their plans," replied Naruto. "The only thing were were told was their plans for Nami was to kill Konohamaru to frame Nami and have us take control and then ask to buy the ports from us."

"That's bold, even if that plan became some what successful, what made them think we'd negotiate with terrorists?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know, but there's a bigger picture that we are missing here," Kakashi said.

Tsunade sighed, "I think I got enough information that I need, you are dismissed.

The three Jounin walked out of the office and Shizune walked in and was about to scold Tsunade for drinking on the job.

"I feel we're going to have a major problem in the near future, Shizune," Tsunade said drinking her Sake.

A knock came to the door of the Hokage's office, Tsunade motioned Shizune to check the door. Shizune walked to the door and opened it, a guy with a bald head and wearing oval glasses wearing a tan cloak walked into office, Tsunade recognized the man.

"Kaiba, I'm suprised to see you," Tsunade said. "What's going on?"

"I have more information about the Tatsumaki," Kaiba said.

He walked to Tsunade's desk with a folder and threw it on her desk. Tsunade picked up the folder and opened it up to find a photo attatched to one side and a sheet of paper attatched to the other.

"Who is this?" asked Tsunade.

"_**That's**_the leader of the Tatsumaki, he's a Missing-nin from Kazangakure," replied Kaiba.

"Kazangakure? I've never heard of it. Where is this village located?" asked Tsunade.

"We believe it's on a chain of islands over 6,000 kilometers away from Kirigakure," answered Kaiba.

"What the hell is a Missing-nin from nearly the otherside of the world doing over here leading a group of Missing-nin from the surrounding villages here?" asked Tsunade.

"Their main goal is still undetermined at this point, but I do know why they wanted control of Nami's docks," replied Kaiba.

"What?"

"They wanted it to ship some kind of Narcotic from the other side of the world," Kaiba answered.

"Drugs? All this for drugs?" questioned Tsunade.

"It's not your standard drug, it's chakra infused to be able to manipulate a person to do someone elses bidding," answered Kaiba.

"Why would they want to do that?"

"I don't know the answer to that yet, but once I do, you'll be the first to know Tsunade-sama."

* * *

Naruto laid in bed as Sakura turned over to look at him staring at the ceiling.

"You've been awfully quiet since we got back, are you okay?" she asked.

Naruto looked over to her, "Yeah I'm fine, just going over in my head how I'm going to defeat Totosai next time I see him."

"Why are you so stuck on killing this guy?" the pinkette asked.

"I don't want Hiroshi to end up like Sasuke," replied Naruto.

"I don't think he will," added Sakura, "That kid idolizes you, you have the power to steer him in the right direction, the power to be able to keep him off that dark path Sasuke took years ago."

"You think so?"

"I know so," replied Sakura as she kissed the blonde on the cheek.

Naruto smiled, "I love you."

Sakura smiled back, "I love you too. Come on let's get some sleep, we've had a rough two days."

* * *

Hiroshi sat on his back porch staring up at the night sky. The memory of the Genjutsu he fell prey to played over and over in his mind. He was no where near strong enough to beat his uncle. Hiroshi clenched his fists as he shook off the memory as fire began to burn behind his eyes.

"I will get stronger and defeat that bastard on my own, with Naruto-sensei's help, I know I can do it!"

Hiroshi stood up with a new goal, "Tomorrow I'll ask Naruto-sensei to begin teaching me new jutsu to help me get stronger!"

Hiroshi opened the back door and walked inside his empty home. He locked the door behind him and headed to his room to get a good night's sleep.

* * *

**This chapter ends the Rescue Konohamaru arc.**

**Next up: Request**


	21. Request

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Team Eleven Training Mini-arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Request**

Sunlight made it into Naruto's apartment because the blinds were left open. The light made the blonde began to squirm in bed. He tried to close his eyes tighter but it was no use, the light won and Naruto woke up. Next to him was a gorgeous sight of pink hair, his Sakura-chan. He let out a happy sigh as he removed the comforter and got out of bed and walked toward the restroom.

A few minutes later, he walked out feeling relieved. He heard pans being moved around in the kitchen and that's where he found Sakura awake. She was going to cook breakfast, God he loved her cooking.

"Morning Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and laying his chin on her shoulder.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, hungry?"

"Of course," Naruto replied.

Naruto sat down at the dining table as he watched her cook.

"How are you feeling today after that long mission?" Sakura asked.

"A little sore and I'm still a little tired," Naruto answered. "How about you?"

"I'm doing good, besides I think I spent more time keeping an eye on the Genin and didn't battle at all, you did all the work," replied Sakura.

Naruto fell silent, he wondered how Hiroshi was doing. Hiroshi had decided to go to his own house yesterday and Naruto was a little worried. Did he have any nightmares about what he had seen in the Genjutsu he was put under? Naruto tried to convince the boy to crash at his house for one more night, but he didn't want to.

"Are you really okay?" asked Sakura, her voice breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well I put your food in front of you and you haven't touched it yet," Sakura replied.

"Oh sorry, I'm just a little worried about Hiroshi having gone to his own house last night," confessed Naruto. "Maybe I should have tried a little harder to get him to come here."

"I'm sure he is okay," Sakura assured. "He might of needed some time alone."

"Maybe you're right," Naruto said. He began to eat the breakfast Sakura cooked.

Sakura smiled knowning that Naruto just loved her food.

* * *

Hiroshi woke up in his own bed, he looked at the clock which read it was 9:30 in the morning. It had been the first time he had slept in this late since becoming a ninja just a few weeks ago. It did feel good to get the extra sleep but he did scold himself for waking up so late, he wanted to get over to Naruto's apartment early to ask him if he could teach him any kind of jutsu that would help in killing Kami the next time he faced the bastard.

The Genin got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to shower. Fifteen minutes later he was finished and back in his room to put on clean clothes. He went through another drawer of his dresser and pulled out some money that he was hiding underneath a black tee.

'_I'm ready so I guess I'll see if Naruto-sensei is home._'

Hiroshi left his room and walked down the stairs. He unlocked his front door and opened it and walked out. He closed the door again and locked it and headed to the street. He headed to Naruto's apartment.

* * *

Naruto was over the sink washing the dishes Sakura had used in cooking their breakfast. It had been a while since he was able to enjoy Sakura's cooking since becoming a Jonin sensei to Genin.

"That was good Sakura-chan, I can't remember the last time I was able to eat your cooking," Naruto said.

"It was the dinner we had the night before we ended up teaching Genin," Sakura added.

"Geez Sakura-chan, you sure have a good memory," Naruto laughed.

"Well I'm sure you've been eating ramen all that time," Sakura teased.

"I'm not going to lie, yes but I sure did miss this though."

Naruto finished the last dish, he dried with a towel and put it away. Sakura, seeing that Naruto was done washing the dishes, walked to the bathroom.

"Now that you're done, I'm going to take a shower," Sakura said in a seductive voice.

Naruto easily picked up on it, she knew exactly what she wanted. Naruto didn't stray far behind. The bathroom door closed as the couple began their fun.

* * *

Hiroshi walked through the busy streets of Konoha. It had been a while since he was actually able to stay home. Naruto had shown up a few minutes after he had gotten home asking him if he wanted stay at Naruto's apartment for the night. Hiroshi decided he wanted some time alone so he declined but not before Naruto had told him they were going to have a few days off to recover.

"I don't remember Naruto-sensei's apartment being so far away," Hiroshi said to himself as he continued walking through the streets.

It was taking longer than usual but maybe because they were many people out and about this time of the morning and Hiroshi was used to running through these streets earlier in the morning to meet up with his team at the training field before their missions so that was probably the reason why it was taking longer than usual.

After a few more blocks, the building was in view. He walked to the building and once he reached the building and walked up stairs to the second floor. He walked down the hall and reached the apartment he needed and knocked on the door a couple of times.

Naruto opened the door, his hair wet showing that he just got out of the shower.

"Oh Hiroshi, what brings you here?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto-sensei, are you busy? I want to ask you something," replied Hiroshi.

"No I'm not busy, come in," Naruto said.

He opened the door wider to allow the young Genin to enter the apartment. Hiroshi saw Sakura sitting on the bed reading her medical books. She looked up from reading.

"Oh hey, Hiroshi-kun, how are you doing today?" the pinkette asked.

"I'm doing better, thanks."

While Sakura was talking to Hiroshi, Naruto closed the door and locked it. He walked to his couch and sat down. Hiroshi walked to the chair he liked to sit in and sat down.

"So what is it that you wanted to ask me?" asked Naruto.

Hiroshi sighed, "I wanted to ask you if you could teach me some kind of jutsu that Kami doesn't know so that it would help me have some kind of advantage against him."

Naruto didn't answer right away. He pondered what the boy just said to him which kind of caught the blonde off guard even thought he had been considering teaching the boy the Rasengan or Kage Bunshin since he figured out the boy had a high level of chakra at his disposal. Naruto's silence was scaring Hiroshi. Did Naruto-sensei not want to help him out? Hiroshi began having second thoughts about asking for more training and thought about excusing himself and leaving.

"I've been observing you when I can and I've noticed you have a lot of chakra, more so than Shiro and Himawari," Naruto finally said.

"Really?" Hiroshi asked, he was getting excited.

"Yeah and I was already thinking of pulling you aside and having some extra training with you but since you want it, I'll give you extra training. I'll start you off by teaching you the Kage Bunshin," Naruto said.

"Really? Kage Bunshin?" Hiroshi asked with great excitement

Naruto laughed at the kid's excitement, "Hai."

Hiroshi was jumping for joy inside his mind. It never occured to him that his sensei would want to give him some extra training let alone teach him the Kage Bunshin. When he would watch Naruto fight, he always thought Kage Bunshin was so cool. It was much better than the regular Bunshin he learned in the academy. Then his excitement stopped because he felt the 'b' word coming.

"But," Naruto started.

There it was, the dreaded 'b' word Hiroshi didn't want to hear.

"We will start your training tomorrow," Naruto said.

"But why?" Hiroshi asked. He wanted to start now.

"You and I both need another day to rest, we really outdid ourselves back in Nami no Kuni," Naruto explained. "You and I don't need to collapse from Chakra Exhaustion if we start training today."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hiroshi said.

"Sorry bud, I'm just looking out for you as your teacher."

"I know Naruto-sensei, I understand."

"You can hang around if you like, I've got to right my final report on the mission from Nami no Kuni and turn it in to Tsunade-baachan," Naruto said getting up from the couch.

"No it's okay, I'm going to the market to buy some groceries and then head back home to rest for tomorrow," Hiroshi said also getting up from the couch.

Naruto walked to his door and unlocked it to open it up for Hiroshi.

"Meet me at the training grounds at 8 am tomorrow. Eat a good breakfast because the special training is going to be tough."

Hiroshi smiled, "Hai Naruto-sensei, I will. See you tomorrow."

Naruto waved as Hiroshi left his apartment. Naruto closed the door and locked it. He walked to the table where he had his file sitting and opened it up. He picked up his pencil and began to write in the file.

"You seriously just going to train Hiroshi? What about your other two students?" Sakura asked.

"I haven't forgotten about them yet Sakura-chan it's just I don't know how I'm going to help them in their training. I don't know any water jutsu for Himawari and Shiro's abilities, well there is no one else like him," confessed Naruto.

"See if Kakashi-sensei will help Himawari in her water ninjutsu, he did copy thousands of Jutsu while he had the Sharingan after all," suggested Sakura.

"Hmm, you're right. I think I'll go pay him a visit after I'm done with this report," Naruto said.

* * *

"It's about time!" Naruto yelled as a silver-haired man walked to the training field.

"Sorry, I got lost..." Kakashi began but was interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, the same excuse you've been giving me for years."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You've copied many jutsu's, correct?" Naruto asked and Kakashi nodded. "How many of them are water-based?"

"I have many," replied Kakashi. "Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you could help me a little in my team's training, specifically Himawari?"

"You're their Jounin sensei, you're supposed to do it," Kakashi replied.

"Yeah I know but... Hey, wait a minute! That didn't stop you from pushing me off on that closet perv Ebisu!" yelled Naruto.

Kakashi laughed nervously, "You still remember that?"

" I really feel guilty for doing this to Himawari but I don't have a choice because all I know are wind-based jutsu's and all the jutsu I can use in Sage Mode or with Kurama's chakra, I don't have any water-based, I was hoping you can pull Himawari to the side and teah her some of those water ninjutsu's you copied," pleaded Naruto.

"I've never really tried to teach anyone any of the jutsu I copied, I honeslty don't know if I can Naruto," Kakashi replied. "But I'll give it a try, I can't promise anything."

"Anything will help, thanks Kakashi-sensei."

"Sure thing, have her meet me at this training field tomorrow at 8 am sharp," Kakashi said and disappeared.

Naruto felt relieved that his old sensei was going to help him in training Himawari in her water ninjutsu.

"I still don't know what to do with Shiro, he's definately unique," the blonde said to himself.

"You don't need to worry about that Naruto-san, I can take care of his ninjutsu training," said a male voice.

Naruto turned around to see someone that looked almost like Shiro, but older. His hair had bits of grey mixed in with his raven hair. He was wearing a comfortable looking brown long sleeve shirt and black pants. He was holding several bags in both hands.

"The name is Suzuki Ishi, Shiro's father," the man said.

"Well, nice to meet you Ishi-san," Naruto said.

"Shiro is got a good technique with our ability, but he's only scratched the surface, you don't need to worry about his ninjutsu training, I'll continue to invent new ways for my boy to utilize our ninjutsu," Ishi assured.

"Thank you very much Ishi-san, that relieves all the stress about his training," said Naruto.

"Well I better get going, my wife is waiting on these groceries to make dinner tonight," said Ishi. "I would shake your hand but as you can see they're kind of full."

"It's alright," Naruto said.

Ishi walked out of sight as Naruto turned and headed back toward his apartment. The sun was right overhead meaning it was around noon. As he walked, he felt incredibly guilty for spending the day doing nothing. Starting Hiroshi's training today would have been nice, but giving the boy a break was what he needed.

Naruto had been deep in thought and didn't notice a woman walking in his direction. The two collided and both fell to the ground. Naruto got up quickly to help, he didn't realize who it was at first as he extended his hand out so he could help her up.

"I'm so sorry miss, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," Naruto said.

"It's alright Naruto-kun," said the woman. The soft voice made Naruto realize who he had bumped into.

"Oh, Hinata, I didn't realize it was you at first," Naruto said.

Her long purple hair moved in the light Konoha breeze. A gust kicked up and blew some of her hair in front of her pale, pupil-less eyes. Hinata reached to move it out of her face. She was wearing a purple and white jacket over a purple shirt. Her pants were a lavender in color as well.

"So Hinata, how's Kiba doing?" Naruto asked.

"He's doing fine, he's just been busy with missions," Hinata replied.

Ever since she found herself with Kiba, her shyness finally went away and now she could speak to anyone without being so timid.

"That's good, hadn't been able to talk to him for a while now," Naruto said.

"How are you and Sakura doing?" Hinata asked.

"We're good and we're both pretty busy training and doing missions with our teams."

"Tsunade-sama gave you teams?" asked Hinata. "I've been busy training mine too."

"You got a team too?" asked Naruto. "I didn't see you at the meeting a few weeks ago."

"I got their early, I was in the front row," replied the Hyuga.

"Me and Sakura got there a few minutes before that meeting started, we ended up in the back row," said Naruto.

"I better get going, it was good talking to you Naruto-kun," said Hinata.

"Yeah, you too," Naruto said.

The two went their seperate ways and Naruto continued heading back to his apartment. Ten minutes of walking through the streets of Konohagakure, he reached his apartment building. We we walked up to the second floor and down the hall passing a few doors before reaching the one he wanted. He took out his key and unlocked the door. He walked in and headed to the kitchen to get something to drink. He noticed a note on the table when he headed for the refridgerator. It read:

'Naruto, I went to visit my mother for a little while then I'll be heading to the store to pick up a few things for dinner. I'll be back later. I love you very much,

Your Sakura-chan.'

Naruto smiled as he placed the note back down on the table. He then opened the refridgerator and took out a container of orange juice and poured it into a glass and drank it.

He rinsed the glass out and placed in the sink. Naruto then walked to the bed and kneeled to the floor pulling out a box. He opened it revealing the contents were scrolls. He searched through it and found the one he needed.

"There you are, the scroll that I wrote down from memory how to use the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**," Naruto said to himself.

He placed the top back on the box and put it back underneath his bed. Holding the scroll in hand, he walked to his backpack that was on the floor up against his dresser and placed the scroll inside of it.

"Ready for tomorrow now," Naruto said again to himself.

He walked to the living room where he sat down on the couch. He was only sitting for a few minutes before sprawling out along the couch now lying down.

"Shit, I need to tell Himawari about her training for tomorrow," Naruto said to himself.

He got off the couch and headed out the door.

* * *

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Himawari was walking in from the kitchen, she had been out back helping her parents water the yard with their water ninjutsu. She was heading to her room to shower when she heard the knocking. She unlocked the front door and opened it. She was surprised to find her sensei was the one knocking.

"Oh Himawari, just the student I needed to see," Naruto said.

"Naruto-sensei, what did you need?" the girl asked.

"How would you like to learn more water ninjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"That would be great!" the girl said with excitement.

"I hope you're okay with this because I feel guilty for doing it, I don't know any water ninjutsu but I asked Kakashi if he could teach you some of his that he had copied in his lifetime so if you're really interested, meet him at the training grounds at 8 am tomorrow," said Naruto.

Himawari smiled, "You don't need to feel guilty, I totally understand that you can't teach me anything water-based, I will be there."

"Great, I am so glad. I will say you don't need to be there exactly at 8, Kakashi-sensei is not exactly the type to be on time," Naruto said.

"Ok and thank you very much Naruto-sensei," said Himawari.

"You're welcome."

Naruto turned and walked back to the street. It was relieving that Himawari was not mad at being placed with another sensei to train for a little while. As Naruto left Himawari's neighborhood, he walked into Konohagakure's buisness district when he saw his Sakura-chan walking out of the Konoha's grocery store with bags in both hands.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura turned around and was surprised to see Naruto. Did he read the note and come out to look for her? That would be a little weird.

"Naruto-kun, what brings you here?" she asked. "Not that I'm not happy you're here, it's just surprising.

"I was coming from Himawari's house. I was informing her Kakashi was willing to train her in water ninjutsu," Naruto answered.

"That's great," Sakura said. "Did you figure out what to do with Shiro?"

Naruto grabbed some of the bags Sakura was carrying to help her, "Actually right after I was done talking with Kakashi-sensei, I meet Shiro's father. He said he would oversee Shiro's training in their clan's ability."

"That's great to hear, so you got everything done by three," Sakura said.

"Yep."

* * *

Dishes washed and put away and stomach's full from the dinner Sakura had cooked. The two were now snuggled up on the couch. Sakura was reading some of her medical ninjutsu scrolls while Naruto was just taking in Sakura's beauty. Her gorgeous bubblegum pink hair, those bright green eyes.

"Sakura-chan, I love you," he blurted out.

Sakura looked up from her book and smiled, "I love you too Naruto-kun."

Their lips meet as they kissed. However, they didn't break it and instead it became more passionate and even a little lust-filled.

The make out session moved from the couch to the bed where they would begin their fun for the night.

* * *

**Ninjutsu Translations:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** Shadow Replication Technique

**Next Up: Training II**


	22. Training II

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Team Eleven Mini-arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Training II**

The cool morning breeze blew through Naruto's blonde locks as he watched the sun slowly come up from his balcony. His eyes were focused on the morning colors that painted the sky. He pondered his battle with Kami or Totosai or whatever the hell he wanted to be called. Something about the battle felt different than any other battle he had ever fought in his life. Something was off and it was bothering him now the more he thought about it.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura as she sat next to him on the balcony.

Naruto turned, "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" she asked again.

"Yeah I am fine," Naruto replied. The pinkette didn't believe him.

"Are you sure? You looked very deep in thought," she continued.

"Nothing is wrong with me but I can't help but feel like my battle with Hiroshi's uncle was off," Naruto admitted.

"What do you mean off?" she asked.

"He had several opprotunities to kill me and he didn't take them," answered Naruto.

"It looked like he was about to attempt it near the end but ended up retreating," Sakura stated remembering what she saw that night.

Naruto sighed and he got up from his seat and walked inside. Sakura was quick to follow. She saw him get some clothes and a towl and headed for the bathroom. Sakura couldn't help but feel like he was pushing her away a little and a tear formed in her eye.

"If anything is bothering, I'm right here Naruto-kun, you can tell me," said Sakura trying to break the small tension that was building.

Naruto turned and smiled at her geniuely, "I'm fine Sakura-chan, I'm just getting ready. I'm going to meet up with Hiroshi in an hour to start his training."

Sakura felt relieved when she saw that smile and nodded. Naruto turned and went into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later he was done and dressed in his Jounin uniform.

"I'll be back later," Naruto said as he kissed Sakura. "I love you."

Sakura smiled, "I love you too."

She watched the love of her life walk out the door and she knew it be the last time she saw him until the evening came.

* * *

Naruto arrived to the training grounds and sat down on the middle of three wooden posts and waited. The blonde didn't have to wait very long when his student showed up.

"I'm here, Naruto-sensei!" the boy yelled thinking Naruto was asleep. Naruto opened is eyes instantly.

"You don't have to shout Hiroshi, I wasn't asleep!" Naruto yelled back.

"Gomen, Naruto-sensei."

"So when do I get to start learning the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**?" asked Hiroshi.

"Before we get started, I want to make sure you are really ready for this training. Learning the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu **is not going to be an easy task," began Naruto. "It may sound easy to learn and use but it takes a lot of chakra. So much so, this jutsu is considered a **Kinjutsu**. The only reason why I'm going to teach you this jutsu is because it seems you have a high amount of chakra. So I ask, do you think you really ready for this?"

Hiroshi pondered the question a bit before he would answer. Is he really ready for this? After what Naruto had told him, he didn't realize it was going to be a rigorous training session. However, he knew if he wanted any kind advantage in killing Kami, he had to go through with it.

"Hai, Naruto-sensei, I'm ready!" Hiroshi replied with great confidence.

"Alright, the first step I want you to gather all your chakra," Naruto said. Hiroshi made a hand seal and began gathering his chakra.

"This is the only hand seal required for this jutsu," Naruto said while placing his index and middle fingers from both hands to form a cross.

Hiroshi made his hand seal.

"Imagine yourself being multiplied and then evenly distribute chakra to them," Naruto continued.

Hiroshi performed the steps again, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

One perfect replication of Hiroshi appeared. Hiroshi felt a little sad because he didn't create more like Naruto could.

"Good start," Naruto said. "To get more replications, all you have to do is imagine more than one copy of yourself."

Hiroshi dispersed the replication, at least Naruto wasn't mad at him for only creating one. Hiroshi tried the steps again.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Hiroshi yelled. Two exact replications of Hiroshi formed.

"Good, now there is three of you," Naruto said. "Just keep practicing to you can at least get five replications and we'll call it a day."

"Why?" asked Hiroshi.

"Like I said earlier, the **Kage Bunshin** takes a lot of chakra so I don't need you to go into chakra exhaustion," Naruto explained.

"Sensei, why is it considered a **Kinjutsu** anyway?" asked Hiroshi.

"I've already told you the reason twice," replied Naruto.

"I see, becasuse of it taking too much chakra," Hiroshi said.

"Yep, only ninja with high levels of chakra, like myself and possibly you, can use this technique," Naruto added. "Now get to practicing, you still have three more clones to create before we call it a day."

Hiroshi continued to practice his sensei's jutsu for the next several hours. He got stuck at only being able to create only three exact replications of himself. Hiroshi was learning at a slower pace than Naruto would have hoped. Naruto reflected on the night where he learned the jutsu. He had failed the academy graduation exam for the third time and Mizuki had told him if he had learned a jutsu from the forbidden scroll, he'd graduate and become a Genin. He remember it only taken him an hour to full master the jutsu and created hundreds upon hundreds of replications of himself. Hiroshi had been practicing for over three hours and only managed to make three. Maybe the boy didn't have the chakra level to be able to master this jutsu. No that isn't it because the boy would of passed out from near chakra exhaustion a long time ago with this rigorous practicing.

Naruto sighed and was about to call it a day when Hiroshi suddenly created about fifty exact replications of himself. Naruto was impressed as the boy who was stuck on only creating three clones quickly jumped to being able to make fifty.

"And here I was beginning to think teaching you this jutsu might have been a mistake," Naruto said.

Hiroshi smiled a triumphant smile, "Should I continue?"

"No, that's good for today," Naruto answered. "I don't need you to use up all your chakra."

"Ok but I'm going to try one more time," Hiroshi said.

"But I just said..." Naruto didn't finish his sentence as Hiroshi made his hand seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" the boy yelled.

This time around it wasn't fifty replications Hiroshi made, it was over a hundred. However, the replications dispersed and Hiroshi fell to his knees, he was now panting.

"See, this is why I didn't want you to continue," Naruto scolded. "You over-exerted yourself."

"Gomen, Naruto-sensei," Hiroshi said between gasps for breath.

"It's ok, you learned the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** so our training is complete," Naruto said smiling. "Come on, I'll get you home so you can rest."

Hiroshi's stomach then began to growl which embarrassed the boy a little bit. Naruto found it a little funny.

"I guess we can make a pit stop at Ichiraku first," Naruto said.

Naruto picked up the boy and placed him on his back so Hiroshi wouldn't collapse when they walked to Naruto's favorite food establishment.

"Arigatou, Naruto-sensei, for teaching me this awesome jutsu," Hiroshi said.

"No need to thank me Hiroshi, you needed it for your arsenal," the blonde said.

"I'm just scared what Himawari-chan and Shiro is going to think when they find out you personally taught me a jutsu without teaching them anything," added Hiroshi.

"You don't need to worry about that, I have Kakashi-sensei teaching Himawari some of the water ninjutsu he had copied and Shiro's father will take care of teaching better ways to use their unique jutsu," assured Naruto.

The two arrived at Ichiraku's where Naruto ordered for the two. They ate quickly and after they finished, Naruto payed and the two headed to Hiroshi's house so he can rest. They arrived and Naruto placed Hiroshi down who stumbled around but managed to get to his door.

"Naruto-sensei, is the team meeting up tomorrow?" asked Hiroshi.

"No, we're not going to meet up until Himawari and Shiro are ready from their own training," Naruto replied. "So until then you're free. I'd spend a little time every day to keep working on that **Kage Bunshin**."

Hiroshi nodded and walked inside his home to rest. Naruto turned around and headed back to his apartment where his Sakura-chan was waiting for him to come home.

* * *

Night had fallen over Konoha and Naruto and Sakura were sitting on the balcony. They stared at blackened sky with an uncountable number of shining white dots scattered across it. It was times like these when he spent with Sakura-chan that made him feel at peace. The two just sat close to each other in silence.

"I never got a chance to ask you how Hiroshi's training went," Sakura said breaking the peaceful silence.

"He did great, he pretty much mastered the **Kage Bunshin** in a few hours," said Naruto.

"Well I'm glad..." Sakura began but stopped when suddenly a member of the ANBU appeared on the balcony railing.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Tsunade-sama requests your presence at once, it's urgent," the ANBU said and then disappeared.

"What the hell does that granny want this late?" Naruto questioned, a little upset.

* * *

Naruto reached the Hokage's office and knocked on the door. He heard the woman from inside the room yell to come in which he did.

"What's so urgent that you needed me to come here Tsunade-baachan?" Naruto asked.

"I know it's late, but something I got from Jiraiya's old spy network just came to my desk stating it's possible the Tatsumaki are hiding out around the ruins of the Valley of The End.

"Ok, but what's that got to do with me?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sending you and your team along with Kakashi and a recon mission to see if this report is true," said Tsunade.

"When do we leave?" asked Naruto.

"In a couple of days, I heard from Kakashi that he is training Himawari with a few of his water ninjutsu she doesn't know and told he me she wouldn't be ready for a couple more days," Tsunade answered.

"So Kakashi-sensei knows already too then?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, he just left a few minutes before you got here. I just wanted to let you know right away this was going down," replied Tsunade.

"Alright then, I'll make sure to be prepared in a couple of days," Naruto said.

"You'll be briefed more on your mission before you leave, until then, you're dismissed," said Tsunade.

Naruto walked out the office and headed back to his apartment.

* * *

Sakura stood over the sink washing the dishes from their dinner when Naruto walked into the apartment. He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I love you so much," he whispered into her ear which made her smile.

"I love you too," Sakura said. "So what did Tsunade-sama want?"

Naruto sighed, "She's sending me and my team along with Kakashi-sensei on some recon mission at the Valley of the End."

"Why?"

"She got a report from Ero-sennin's old spy network that the Tatsumaki might be hiding out in ruins there," answered Naruto.

Sakura felt a little sad, here she was getting used to Naruto being around again and now he's heading off with his team on their own mission again that she didn't know how long would take.

"When do you leave?" she hesitated to ask.

"In a couple of days," Naruto replied. "After Kakashi-sensei deems Himawari ready from her training under him."

Sakura turned in the blonde's arms to be face to face to him.

"Having our own teams is hard, I feel like I hardly see you enough," Sakura said.

Naruto kissed her lightly on the lips, "I know, I was just getting used to all this time we had been given to spend lately."

Sakura escaped from Naruto's arms and quietly walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Naruto sighed knowing their busy life was starting to take a toll on her. Little did he know the tears that were falling from her eyes while she had been locked up inside that bathroom.

* * *

**Translations:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** Shadow Replication Technique  
**Kinjutsu:** Forbidden Technique

**Next Up: Training III**


	23. Training III

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Team Eleven Training Mini-arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 23: Training III**

Naruto quietly looked over the village as he sat on top of the head of the Yondaime Hokage. The last couple of days while Himawari and Shiro were getting some training, he and Sakura had been a little distant. He knew deep down their busy schedules were taking a little toll on their relationship. Had he knew leading his own Genin squad was going to cause him to lose the love of his life, it's possible he wouldn't of taking on the responsibility. Now he is here thinking about it all with just a couple of hours to spare before they embarked on their journey to the Valley of The End with Kakashi.

* * *

Hiroshi closed the door to his house, locked it and headed toward the front gate. He was excited about his next mission. He remembered Naruto's briefing the evening before about searching the Valley of The End for a base camp for the Tatsumaki so Hiroshi hoped for another fight with Sumi. As he walked through the streets of Konoha, he meet up with Himawari in the market area.

"Himawari-chan!" Hiroshi called out happily.

Himawari looked up to see where the voice that called her name was. She searched through the sea of people to find Hiroshi waving his hands to get her attention.

"Hiroshi!" she yelled back and ran to the boy.

"How did you training with Kakashi-san?" asked Hiroshi.

"I'm not going to lie, it was tough," replied Himawari.

"How come? What did he do to you?" Hiroshi asked.

* * *

_Four Days Ago:_

A heavy sigh echoed through the air around the training grounds. She had been waiting here for at least two hours now. Didn't he say 7 am? Then Himawari rememebered what Naruto-sensei had said about Kakashi and she should have listened to him and showed up later. At the same time, she had a glitter of hope that it was a lie and Naruto-sensei just wanted her to get in trouble with Kakashi but her sensei wasn't lying, he was very late.

"I'm sorry Himawari, I got lost on the path of life," Kakashi said appearing behind the girl.

The silver-haired Jounin's voice startled her a bit because she wasn't expecting it. She had been lost inside her thoughts and starting a slow burn because her Water ninjutsu sensei still hadn't showed up.

"It's ok," Himawari lied.

"Well for starters, what water ninjutsu do you already know?" asked Kakashi.

"I know the **Surio no Jutsu**, **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu** and **Suiton: Mizubashira Shuriken**," replied the Genin.

"Well I can actually say I'm impressed, you got a couple of high level techniques already," said Kakashi.

"I know several water ninjutsu I've copied with my Sharingan eye when I had it so I think we'll start with the **Kiragakure no Jutsu**. I was going to teach you the **Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu** but since you have a powerful technique in **Suiton: Mizubashira no Jutsu** at your disposal, we'll do this one first," Kakashi said.

"Cool," Himawari replied.

"Next question is can you perform your jutsu's on their own or do you need to use a water source?" asked Kakashi.

"My parents can do that but I need to be around water to be able to use my jutsu right now," replied Himawari, a little sad.

"As I thought, don't beat yourself about it, you're only a Genin, as you grow stronger as a Shinobi, you'll just might gain the ability to utilize these jutsu without a water source," Kakashi said. "Let's head over the lake to begin the training."

The two walked over to the lake. As they arrive to their destination, Kakashi couldn't help but to smirk since it was the same lake where Naruto showed a little potential when he had become Genin and was doing the bell test.

"Alright, first off I'll show you the hand seals required to do this jutsu," said Kakashi. "Watch closely."

Kakashi performed the seals slowly for Himawari. He did it a couple more times to make sure the Genin got them all.

"You got them down now?" asked Kakashi. Himawari nodded.

"Ok now watch me do this in quick succession," Kakashi said.

He performed the hand seals for the jutsu like normal and mist began forming around the lake.

"This is the **Kirigakure no Jutsu**, if you can get it thick enough, it will hide your movements from your enemy," Kakashi said. "The trick is getting the right amount of chakra in the water to lift up a mist. If you use too much chakra, you'll just lift mass amounts of water and if you use too little, the technique won't work at all. You ready to give it a try?"

Himawari nodded and began performing the hand seals Kakashi had showed her. After she finished the last one, she released what she felt like the right amount of chakra and began to raise water from the lake, but it wasn't a mist, she had pumped out too much chakra. She was about to berate herself. Kakashi could tell she wasn't feeling too good about herself at the moment.

"Don't be so hard on yourself so quickly, this jutsu is like any other, it's going to take a mass amount of practice to get it right," Kakashi said.

Himawari tried again, this time she put in too little chakra and nothing happened and again she was getting frustrated with herself. She wanted her family to be proud of her, she wanted Naruto-sensei be proud of her. Hell, she even wanted her sensei's sensei proud of her.

"Tell you what, if you do me a favor and keep practicing without being hard on yourself or giving up, I'll go ahead and teach you all the water ninjutsu I had copied over the years," Kakashi said as an incentive to motivate the Genin.

"Really? You really would teach me all your water ninjutsu?" Himawari asked.

"Yes I will," replied Kakashi.

Himawari stopped feeling sorry for herself and went back to practice. A few hours passed and she was becoming fatigue from using her chakra. She got far as getting the water to big dropletts but she wasn't close to having the water in a mist form.

"Alright, you look like you're about to collapse from exhaustion. I don't need you to die from using up all your chakra, we'll end the training for the day. Go home, get some rest and be back her at 7 am to continue training and remember, don't give up because the faster you learn this jutsu, the faster we can move on to the next one," Kakashi said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

"That's so cool Himawari, you're going to be such a powerful water ninjutsu specialist," Hiroshi said.

"I hope so, but since we have this mission, my training for other water ninjutsu has been put off," Himawari said sadly.

"We'll ask Naruto if Kakashi-san keeps his promises, okay?" Hiroshi said to assure the girl and Himawari just smiled.

"So did you learn that jutsu Kakashi-san was teaching you?"

* * *

_Three Days Ago:_

Himawari arrived at the training grounds two hours after Kakashi had initially told her knowing he would be late. Sure enough, she arrived at the same time as Kakashi.

"Well I'll be damned, you're the first person to have the brains to figure out to come later then when I say," Kakashi said amused.

Himawari smirked, "After all the stories Naruto-sensei told us about training under you, I just figured I come two hours later."

"You ready to get this jutsu mastered?" asked Kakashi.

Himawari nodded and the two returned to the lake where Himawari began to practice the jutsu again. A couple of hours passed when a bird began circling around the training field.

"Himawari, go ahead and take a break, Tsunade-sama is calling me," said Kakashi.

Himawari layed down in the green grass and stared up at the sky as she rested and waited for Kakashi to return. She didn't realize she had been lying there for nearly forty-five minutes when Kakashi returned to the training grounds.

"I'm back," Kakashi said.

Himawari got up from her spot to start practicing the jutsu again but Kakashi signaled her to wait.

"Tsunade-sama informed me of a mission me and yourself along with Naruto and your other teammates will be going on once you guys training is complete but its an urgent mission so I'm only giving you two days to master this jutsu otherwise, we're heading out on this mission and you'll have to wait until we get back before praciticing some more," said Kakashi.

Himawari, "Alright, fine, I'll master this jutsu within two days then!"

Himawari returned to practicing the jutsu. Another few hours passed and Kakashi said it was time to quit and rest up, Himawari was getting closer and closer to creating just mist. Kakashi believed she'd master it in one more day which Himawari hoped.

* * *

"When did you finally master that jutsu?" asked Hiroshi.

The two were nearing the gate and Hiroshi was still curious with Himawari's training under their sensei's sensei.

"Well I really wanted to master the jutsu so after Kakashi-san ended the training session for the day, I ended up going home and going to the pond in our backyard and practice some more and I finally figured out the amount of chakra needed to create the mist," Himawari answered. "So the next day when I met up with Kakashi-san, I showed him that I finally mastered the jutsu and he gave me the final two days to rest up before the mission."

As the two saw the gate, they noticed Naruto was not waiting for them there as he usually does. Kakashi was not present either. Hiroshi looked around to see if they were just late but he saw Shiro coming.

"Over here Shiro!" yelled Hiroshi as he waved his hands in the air to get Shiro's attention.

"Where's Naruto-sensei and Kakashi-san?" asked Shiro when he stopped in front of Hiroshi and Himawari.

"We don't know, they're not here yet," replied Himawari.

"Did you get any training?" asked Hiroshi.

"Yeah, my father gave me some chakra conditioning training to increase its strength and taught me a few new uses for my chakra weapons," answered Shiro.

The three Genin walked to the gate enterance to the village and waited for their sensei or Kakashi to show up. It felt like they were waiting for a very long time.

"This isn't like Naruto-sensei to be late, where is he?" asked Hiroshi.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he got up from where he had been sitting for quite a while. He knew he was already running late in meeting up with his team and Kakashi-sensei so he didn't bother to hurry to the gate. He just walked through the village that was winding down for the night. He didn't want to go on this mission since his head was clouded with thoughts of his Sakura-chan and the fact she was being distant with him since they both ended up going on seperate missions.

"This is going to eat me alive on this mission," Naruto said to himself.

As he said this he didn't realize Kakashi was walking up from behind him so he heard what Naruto had whispered to himself. Kakashi pondered whether to ask his former student what was bothering him or not but in the end he decided to ask.

"What's going to eat you alive on this mission?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked up, surprised to see Kakashi walking up next to him. He thought he was walking through the village on his own. He didn't want to tell anyone his feelings at the moment.

"It's nothing, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto lied.

"If something is bothering you and if you think it's going to effect the outcome of this mission you either need to get over it or just spill it out and maybe it will make you feel better," Kakashi explained.

Naruto sighed, "You know I love Sakura-chan very much and since I told her about this mission a couple of days ago, she's been kind of distant with me. She was not very talkative and then it got worse when yesterday she and her team were going on some mission to help the Sunakagure, I think our busy schedules that are keeping us apart is taking a toll on her."

"Well Naruto, this isn't something I can really help you on since this is between the two of you but I will say this, if the two of you really love each other, then you'll both find a way to make it work," Kakashi replied.

Naruto let those words sink in, he knew he deeply loved Sakura more than anything in the world so he was now determined to make it work no matter what.

"Naruto-sensei!" yelled Hiroshi.

Naruto looked up to find he and Kakashi had made it to the front enterance to the village and found his students waiting for him.

"Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro, you guys ready for this mission?" Naruto asked.

"Yes!" the genin said in unison.

"Alright then, let's get going!"

* * *

Translations:  
**Surio no Jutsu: **Water Prison Technique  
**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu:** Water Replication Technique  
**Suiton: Mizubashira Shuriken: **Water Release: Waterspout Shuriken  
**Kiragakure no Jutsu Suiton: **Hidden Mist Technique  
**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu**: Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Technique

**Next: **Countries Apart


	24. Countries Apart

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Search For Tatsumaki Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Countries Apart**

The sound of knocking was heard as Tsunade sat at her desk looking over the reports of Tatsumaki sightings near the borders. The morning light coming in signaling she had been in her office early. She sighed as this possible new threat was making her job more stressful again.

"Come in!" Tsunade yelled.

The door opened revealing Sakura and her Genin Ankoku, Aki and Shinji.

"You wanted to see us Tsunade-sama?" the pink-haired Jounin asked.

"There's been more sightings of Tatsumaki in Kaze no Kuni, I'm sending your team to Sunagakure to meet up with Temari to investigate this sighting," answered Tsunade.

"Forgive me but didn't you just send Naruto-kun and his team to investigate sightings?" asked Sakura.

"Yes I did, but I sent them to the Valley of the End besides I need to take this Tatsumaki group seriously, I don't know how many people are in this organization but any sightings near our borders is a concern so I want to investigate all sightings," replied Tsunade.

"Hai, when do we leave?" asked Sakura.

"As soon as possible," answered the Hokage.

"Hai," Sakura said as she bowed and exited the Hokage's office with her Genin.

"Once this Tatsumaki threat is taken care of, I'm going to retire," Tsunade said to herself.

* * *

_Few Hours earlier:_

Naruto jumped off branch to branch in the cover of darkness, to the side of him is his silver-haired former sensei Kakashi. Following behind him where his Genin team of Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro. The thick forest hindered any of the moonlight to filter through it. They had been traveling non stop for the last couple of hours so Naruto looked back to see his Genin were getting tired. He turned to Kakashi.

"I think we need a break," said Naruto.

"Alright," Kakashi replied.

Kakashi and Naruto stopped with the Genin stopping too. Naruto turned to his students.

"We're taking a break here, we'll be heading back out in a couple of hours," Naruto said.

Naruto sat down underneath a tree, he didn't realize how tired he was getting until now, his breathing became heavy. His students sat down in front of him as they were breathing heavily as well.

"How much longer until we get to this Valley of the End place?" asked Hiroshi inbetween his breaths.

"Once we leave from this spot again, it'll only be a couple more hours," Naruto replied.

Hiroshi groaned at his sensei's answer. Himawari giggled at Hiroshi while Shiro layed down on the ground. Unbeknownst to them, prying eyes from bushes nearby disappeared.

* * *

A boy walked through the waterfall into a darkned cave. He walked through the cave until he came to a door that as lit by fire torches on both side of the door. The boy knocked two times and the door opened and the boy walked in. Inside, a man wearing a blue cloak with hair white as snow closed the door behind the boy. The man mumbled something to the boy but he just ignored it and continued to the end of the room where another man was sitting down on a rocky surface.

"What is it Sumi?" asked the man in a cold voice.

"Totosai-sama, I have some news for you," answered Sumi.

"What is it?"

"Uzumaki Naruto and his team are on their way," Sumi answered.

Totosai stiffened up at the mention of that name.

'_Son of a bitch; How did Konoha manage to find out about our base here and sent _him_ of all people?'_

The white haired man grew angry quickly at the name. It was the name of the very man that somehow defeated him so easily _twice_ in the same night. He wanted some revenge on that blonde so bad but he was cut out his angry thoughts.

"Nana, you've been waiting to get your hands on him, go ahead and go take care of it for me," Totosai said. "Don't fail me this time!"

Nana wore and evil smirk when he got his wish to go after the blonde. He opened the door and walked out closing it behind him.

"Sumi?" said another man coming out of the darkness.

"What is it?"

"Was Kakashi with him?" the other man said.

"I only saw Naruto and those children with him," Sumi answered.

"I'll send you next Sho because I have a feeling Nana is going to fail me again," Totosai said.

"Very well," Sho said.

'_I hate taking orders from this guy! Why the hell did _he_ put this bastard in charge of us?'_

"Totosai, I have one question," Sumi said. "Why go through the trouble of protecting this place? Why not vacate?"

"_He_ told us to stay here until he arrives, this is where _he_ wants to meet us," replied Totosai. "Then we are to meet up with the rest in Kaze no Kuni, I thought I told you this."

"No you didn't, I'm sorry for asking," Sumi said as he bowed.

"Sumi, go ahead and keep an eye out on Nana so you can let me know if he fails again," Totosai ordered.

"Hai," Sumi said bowing again. He turned and left the hideout.

* * *

Sakura walked quietly with her Genin walking up in front. She was more focused on her disagreement with Naruto the night before. She was so deep in thought she didn't even realized her Genin were getting tired as they had been traveling nonstop since the morning.

"Sakura-sensei, is it alright if we take a break?" asked Aki.

The question brought the pink-haired Jounin out of her thoughts and saw her Genin looked tired.

"Yeah let's stop here," Sakura answered.

The Genin took off their backpacks and sat down on the ground. Ankoku opened his up and took out a wrapper and opened it revealing a rice ball. Shinji decided to lay down lying his head on his backpack to take a quick nap while Aki drank some water. Sakura watched her Genin a bit but her mind traveled back to Naruto. She felt so bad about how they left things when they both went out on their missions. She even wondered how Naruto was feeling because she knew he was upset too.

"Sakura-sensei, are you okay?" asked Aki. The girl had noticed her sensei's demeanor was different than usual.

Sakura looked up to her student and smiled, "I'm fine."

"So sensei, what are we exactly doing?" asked Ankoku. "I know we're meeting up with some ninja from Suna and looking from some group, but what are we going to do if we run into them?"

"We'll send word to Tsunade-sama and she'll send a more equipped team to engage in combat with them, we're only on a scouting mission, nothing more," Sakura answered.

"Well that sucks, I was hoping for a little fighting," said Shinji.

"You're only Genin Shinji, going up against a group like Tatsumaki isn't for us," added Sakura.

"Wasn't Naruto a Genin when he saved the world during the Fourth Great Ninja War?" asked Aki.

"Yes he was a Genin at the time, however, he had far more training than you guys have right now," replied Sakura. "You've only been under my tutelage for four months. He had been a ninja for four years."

Their conversation turned to silence when Sakura's mind wondered off to the guilt she was feeling when Naruto left for his mission without a word. She was taken out of her thoughts when an explosion nearby was heard.

"What was that?" asked Aki.

"I don't know," replied Sakura.

"Should we go find out?" Shinji asked.

"Don't be stupid Shinji, this is not our country so it's not our problem," answered Ankoku.

"Actually we do need to check it out to make sure it's not anyone from this Tatsumaki group," Sakura added. "We're just going to investigate it, we won't be engaging in any combat and if it is a problem other than the Tatsumaki, we won't be getting involved."

* * *

Hiroshi looked around the forest they were hopping through. He looked over his shoulders and the surroundings near his teammates and friends. An uneasy feeling swept over him like a wave and now was feeling paranoid. He looked to his Sensei and Kakashi and they looked to be calm as they continued to lead the way to their destination.

"You look like your thinking really hard, are you okay Hiroshi-kun?" Himawari asked.

She had noticed Hiroshi's demeanor had changed in the last few minutes. Just a few minutes prior he had almost an excited look on his face and now it quickly turned to one of worry.

"I don't know, I suddenly started feeling uneasy almost paranoid," Hiroshi answered.

"It's probably just your nerves," Shiro said chiming in on the conversation.

Naruto overheard his Genin talking and looked over his shoulder to say some encouraging words but he couldn't get any out when a icy cold wind began blowing.

"What the hell?" Naruto asked outloud, "This isn't right, it's summer."

"Definately the work of someone," Kakashi said trying to shield himself from the bitter cold wind.

"I finally get the upper hand on you this time blondie!" said a voice that echoed through the wind. It was a voice that Naruto recognized.

"Ugh, not this guy again," Naruto said. "He's becoming a thorn in my side."

The cold wind that stopped the group dead in its track finally let up revealing a tall man with snow-white colored hair. His eyes were an ice blue color and he wore the Tatsumaki blue cloak. Naruto turned to Kakashi and whispered.

"You take the Genin and continue on up ahead, I won't be long."

Kakashi nodded and Naruto turned to his three Genin and whispered to them as well.

"Hiroshi, Shiro, Himawari, I need you three to go with Kakashi for a little bit. It won't take me long here."

The three Genin did as they ordered and walked over to Kakashi and tried to keep going on with the mission.

"You guys aren't going anywhere!" the snow-white haired man said and blew out his ice cold wind again stopping Kakashi and Naruto's Genin team from leaving.

In doing so left him open to an attack by Naruto. Instead of wasting chakra or even going into Nine-Tail Chakra Mode, Naruto just punched the man across his face which stopped the wind allowing Kakashi and the Genin to jump back into the trees to continue on towards the Valley of the End.

"Ow that hurt damn it!" yelled the man.

"Good because you should never let your guard down around your enemies," Naruto said.

"It doesn't matter because I'm happy you've shown up because I've been ready to get my revenge on you to how humilated you made me feel back in Nami no Kuni," said the man.

"That's because you suck as a ninja," taunted Naruto.

"I do not suck!" yelled the man.

"If that's the case then I'd know who you are. I know other members of your group like Shi, Totosai, even that kid Sumi but I don't know you," Naruto said smirking.

"You can call me Nana, that way you'll know who killed you while you're burning in hell!" yelled Nana.

Naruto wanted this fight over before it even started so he allowed himself to enter his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. His body now glowed bright yellow.

'_So bright, but no matter because I'll freeze him to death!'_

Nana quickly performed a couple of hand seals, "**Tsumetai Kaze no Jutsu**!"

Naruto smirked and began forming a spiraling chakra sphere in his right hand. Once it was complete he added his wind chakra nature to it which formed it into a giant chakra shuriken. As Nana blue his ice cold wind toward Naruto, Naruto countered.

"**Rasenshuriken**!" yelled Naruto as he threw it towards the howling winds coming his way.

Nana smirked, '_My icey wind will just blow it away, damn idiot!_'

When the Rasenshuriken hit the ice cold wind, it didn't stop the attack. The wind chakra nature in Nana's attack was sucked into Naruto's Rasenshuriken and made it even bigger than Naruto had originally made it.

"What?! That's impossible, the sheer force of my winds should of blew that chakra apart!"

The Rasenshuriken hit Nana dead on as the shock of his ice winds failing to blow away Naruto's attack caught him off guard enough to get hit. Nana screamed as Naruto's Rasenshuriken sliced through his body inside and out. The ball of chakra exploded leveling the area around Nana out. Nana fell the ground, bleeding from all the small cuts. Naruto walked to his easy opponent he knew he'd defeat easily once again.

"Wh-what the hell did you do to me?" Nana asked as he coughed up blood.

"My Rasenshuriken is a wind type jutsu and your wind type jutsu only amplified mine," Naruto said.

"Damn it, you bastard!" Nana yelled as he continued to cough up more blood. He tried to get up but all he did was fall back down to the ground.

"You humiliated me again."

Naruto didn't say anything and walked away from the scene in order to catch back up with Kakashi and the Genin.

* * *

Sakura and her Genin disguised themselves as travelers as they investigated the explosion. Here they were in a small village right near the border of Kaze no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni. They reached a warehouse that was now on fire and unfortunately Sakura could see a man with long red hair wearing a blue cloak. Sakura saw the symbol on the back and she grabbed her journal and flipped through a couple of pages and saw the symbol on the cloak matched the one in her mission notes, it was a member of the Tatsumaki.

"What's wrong Sakura-sensei?" asked Aki quietly.

"We found ourselves a member of the Tatsumaki," Sakura answered.

Ankoku and Shinji watched in horror when they saw the man had a hostage with him and held a katana to his throat.

"For the last time, where is it?" the red-haired man said to the old man who was bald and wearing brown shirt and pants. His eyes were closed as he was on his knees.

"Whatever it is you're looking for, it's not here," the old man answered.

"That's bullshit!" yelled the red-haired man. "Totosai said you would have the package so hand it over or I'll kill your daughter here."

The red-haired man then walked over to a young woman wearing a red and white dress as tears fell from her hazel eyes. The red-haired man grabbed the young woman's long black hair and placed his katana on her thoat.

"So what's it going to be old man?"

"Please don't hurt her," the old man begged. "I'm telling you the truth, no one has left any package with me."

"I'm sorry but it looks like your daddy wants to save himself rather than save you," the red-haired man said.

He dug his katana a bit harder into the woman's neck and was about to slice when the earth below him crumbled. The force of it caused the man to stumble and fall onto his back.

"What the hell was that?" he said to himself.

"It was me!" Sakura yelled.

The man got up and turned to face the voice to find the pink-haired Jounin with her fist on the ground showing she punched the ground.

'_What incredible strength_.'

"I thought we weren't getting involved," said Ankoku to Aki and Shinji.

"So did I," added Aki.

"I think that man was about to kill that girl," said Shinji. "Sakura-sensei had to do something about it."

"Who are you and why are you terrorizing an elderly man and his family?" asked Sakura.

"Ha! Like I need to tell you anything," the man said. "But if you must know my name, well you can just call me Roku."

Sakura didn't say anything and waited to see if Roku made a move to attack. She didn't want really want to get into a battle with someone from the Tatsumaki but she couldn't just let the man kill an innocent woman over some package he was looking for that was quite obvious the old man didn't have in the first place.

"Since you're so eager to get involved with my affairs then maybe you know where the package I'm supposed to pick up here is," said the man smirking.

* * *

Totosai was busy reading a scroll he had received from a carrier pigeon and he failed to notice that Sumi returned to the hideout. He sighed as he rolled up the scroll and noticed Sumi was standing there.

"Oh Sumi my boy, I didn't hear you come in, is there something wrong?" asked Totosai.

"Nana is dead, Naruto killed him," Sumi answered.

"I'm not surprised," Totosai said. "I honeslty don't know why _he_ recruited that idiot in the first place. I guess he thought that ice wind of his would be an asset."

"Should we send Sho out?" asked Sumi.

"No, in fact we're leaving. The meeting place has changed, he must head to Kawa no Kuni to meet up with Roku and Ni and head to some deserted desert town in Kaze no Kuni. Apparently _he_ has recruited the eighth and final member," Totosai replied.

"Final member? Wouldn't _he_ have to replace Yon and Nana?" asked Sumi.

"I'm not sure Sumi," answered Totosai. "I don't know all the details of _his_ plan in the first place. Now go get Sho, we're leaving right now."

"Hai," said Sumi then he turned and walked away in search of Sho.

* * *

Tsunade sat in her office still sorting through the paperwork all while drinking a bottle of Sake. Shizune walked into the office and narrowed her eyes at her master when she noticed the Hokage was drinking on the job.

"Tsunade-sama, I thought we agreed no Sake when you're..."

"Not now Shizune," Tsunade said interrupting her. "With all this shit going on with the Tatsumaki, I just needed to get away through this bottle here."

"The last big event as Hokage got you this stressed?" asked Shizune.

"How'd did you know I'm thinking about retiring after this ordeal?" Tsunade asked.

"I over heard you after you finished debriefing Sakura and her team on their mission the other day," said Shizune.

"Well I guess I can say I _will_ be retiring after the Tatsumaki are dealt with," Tsunade said.

* * *

**Translations:**  
**Tsumetai Kaze no Jutsu:** Freezing Wind Technique  
**Kawa no Kuni:** Land of Rivers  
**Kaze no Kuni: **Land of Wind

**Next Up: Empty Nest**

* * *

**Just want to give thanks to everyone thats reviewed the story so far.**


	25. Empty Nest

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Search For Tatsumaki Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 25: Empty Nest**

Naruto set a quick pace jumping through the trees trying to catch up to his team and Kakashi. Defeating Nana was quick but he didn't think Kakashi and the Genin would have gotten so far in that short period of time. They almost reached the Valley of The End and he didn't want his Genin unprotected if Kakashi ended up facing off against anyone from the Tatsumaki.

After a few more minutes, Naruto had finally caught up to his Genin and Kakashi. He saw his Genin struggling to keep up with his former sensei. Naruto smirked but he decided it was best for the kids to build up their stamina so he let them keep going without a break just a little bit longer.

"That was quick!" Kakashi yelled out without looking back.

"Kind of surprised this group had a ninja that bad!" Naruto yelled back.

The Genin turned to find their sensei right behind him. His voice made them jump because they did not sense his presence. Naruto saw the looks on their faces.

"What?"

The Genin didn't say a word and went back to focusing on trying to keep up with Kakashi. Naruto looked beyond Kakashi and saw the forest was beginning to clear which meant they were near the Valley of The End. Once they reached the clearing, Kakashi motioned for everyone to stop.

"I thought we were never going to stop!" Hiroshi whined.

"Everyone be quiet," Kakashi said. "And hide up in the tree."

Everyone climbed up into the tree that looked over at the ruins of the statue's of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Naruto stared at the ruins remembering his two fights with Sasuke, the first he lost as he tried to fulfill his promise to Sakura and the second time right after the Fourth Shinobi War where he thought having defeated his brother would change his outlook on everything but ultimately didn't.

"Are you okay, Naruto-sensei?" Himawari whispered.

"This place, I have no good memories here," Naruto replied.

"Sensei, just exactly are we doing?" asked Shinji, whispering.

"We're scouting the area to see if there is any lookouts or anyone from Tatsumaki," answered Naruto.

Kakashi and Naruto scanned the surroundings but didn't see anyone or anything out of the ordinary.

"I think it's safe to go down there and take a look around," Kakashi said.

The team jumped out of the tree to the ground below and began looking around for any signs of anyone camping out around the area. They searched around all the stone pieces lying around that were ruins from the statue's that used to be here.

Naruto came to a boulder lying by the cliff and it had a paper seal on it.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think I found something!" yelled Naruto.

Kakashi walked over to where Naruto was and saw the paper seal on the boulder. He examined it a bit to see if was to move the boulder or some kind of shield.

"I didn't want to remove it because I'm not sure if its for moving the boulder or there's a shield around the area," Naruto said.

"It's just for moving," Kakashi said.

"Well it won't move with our chakra," Naruto said. "This would be much easier if Sakura-chan was here, she could just break the damn thing into pebbles."

"She's not but you got the next best thing," Kakashi added.

"Yeah I know," Naruto said as he removed the seal from the boulder.

Naruto jumped away from the boulder as soon as he removed the seal off the boulder to make sure there were no traps that would be set off from removing the tag. Nothing. Naruto sighed in relief as he allowed himself to go into the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and formed a Rasengan in his hand. He mixed into the ball some of his wind element and Kurama's chakra into the ball and it formed into a shape of a shuriken.

"Alright everyone stay back!" Naruto yelled to everyone. "Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto threw his Rasenshuriken into the boulder which created a fierce blast and a plume of dirt. The Genin and Kakashi shielded themselves when they felt a blast of wind hit them from the force of Naruto's attack. A few minutes passed and with the plume of dirt settled revealed there was nothing left of the boulder and left a giant hole in the side of the cliff which exposed there was an opening behind that boulder.

"Looks like we have ourselves a hideout," Kakashi said as he walked toward the hole Naruto had just blown open.

"Come on guys, let's follow Kakashi and inspect the place," Naruto called out to his Genin.

Hiroshi, Himawari and Shinji ran over to Naruto as they walked inside the exposed hideout behind Kakashi.

They looked around the massive room and found signs that there were people inside this hideout as there were empty food containers in piled up in a corner. Even a chunk of the wall looked to be carved out for sitting and lying down on. Though it was just one big room, there was nobody inside it at this moment.

"Either they knew we were coming and left, or they're somewhere nearby," Kakashi said.

Naruto looked around the hideout to find it empty, the only contents was the empty food containers in the far left corner of the room.

"They vacated this place Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. "If they had just left for a while, there would be belongings in here."

"Well not neccessarily, when we fought the Tatsumaki back in Nami no Kuni, they didn't have anything on them other than their ninja tools," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Naruto said.

"Well there's nothing here so I'll end this mission, let's return home," Kakashi said.

* * *

Night had fallen with Naruto and his Genin along with Kakashi stopping to came out for the night. Naruto took point first to watch over everyone sleeping. He stared at the clear, starlit sky with an unshakeable feeling that something bad had happened. Naruto sighed as his mind wondered to Sakura and the fight they had that night before he left for his mission.

"You ready to get some sleep?"

Naruto looked to the branch beside him to find Kakashi standing. Did he really let his mind just wonder for the last four hours?

"Sure," Naruto replied.

Kakashi took his place watching over the group while Naruto jumped from the tree he was sitting in and grabbed his backpack. He took out a scroll and released a sleeping bag that was being stored in the scroll. He crawled inside it and laid down to try to get some sleep. He had some trouble as he still had that feeling that something bad had happened lingering.

* * *

Naruto felt something shake him as he struggled to get up. Finally he opened to eyes to find Hiroshi standing over him with a blue sky above him.

"What is it Hiroshi?" asked Naruto.

"Kakashi-san wanted me to wake you up, he says it's time to get going," Hiroshi answered.

Naruto sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He got up and stretched. After stretching he grabbed his sleeping bag and rolled it up. He grabbed the scroll he had it sealed in and unrolled it, placing the sleeping bag on the scroll. Performing a few hand seals, he sealed the sleeping bag back into the scroll. He rolled the scroll up and placed it back into his backpack.

"Alright, let's get going," said Naruto.

The five Konoha-nin jumped into the trees and began another day of traveling back home.

* * *

The sun was close to setting as Naruto with his Genin and Kakashi walked through the main gate of Konohagakure. They were greated by the gatekeepers Kotetsu and Izumo as they walked in. They walked through the streets of Konoha heading for the Hokage tower to debrief their findings at the Valley of the End.

They arrived to the Hokage tower where they found Shizune.

"Naruto-kun, Kakashi-san, you're back already!" Shizune said, "Do you need to see Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes we do," Naruto said.

Shizune walked to the door of the Hokage's office and knocked. She entered and closed the door behind her. A minute later or so she came out.

"She's ready to see you now," Shizune said.

Kakashi and Naruto walked into the office with the Genin behind them.

"I'm suprised to see you guys back so soon, what happened out there?" asked Tsunade.

"On our way to The Valley of the End, we were attacked by a member of the Tatsumaki and I managed to quickly defeat him," Naruto replied.

"Once we reached The Valley of the End, we searched around and found an abandoned hideout but it was empty and there wasn't anything else in the area," Kakashi finished.

Tsunade sighed, "Very well, you are dismissed."

The group walked out of the Hokage's office and made their way outside back on the streets of Konoha. Kakashi took his quick leave and left. It was now Naruto and his Genin.

"Are we dismissed Naruto-sensei?" Himawari asked.

She didn't ask the question because she was so anxious to get home, she just didn't know if her sensei had anything else left to plan.

"Yeah Himawari, you guys are dismissed," Naruto said.

Everyone went their seperate ways and Naruto headed home to his apartment. As he walked home, he started going over everything he was going to say to Sakura, that was if she was even still there. He had been gone for a few days so she had plenty of time to get together her stuff and leave if that's what she was going to do. Naruto sighed because he didn't want to be fighting with Sakura like this especially since he had worked so long to finally win her love.

Naruto reached his apartment and climbed up to the third floor. He walked down the hall until he found his door. He took his key and put it in the keyhole and unlocked the door. Naruto took in a deep breath and opened the door. It was dark and Naruto was starting to fear that Sakura had left. He turned the light on to the kitchen and placed his backpack by the door.

"Sakura-chan, you here?" Naruto called out. No answer.

Naruto was getting really worried now, the apartment was dark and he received no answer from Sakura when he called out. He walked to his bedroom where the door was opened. He peeked inside to see the bed was made. Sakura wasn't here and Naruto punched the wall out of frustration.

"Damn it!" He yelled.

Naruto walked back into the kitchen where he was fixing to leave to head over to Sakura's parents house to see if he could win Sakura back when he noticed a piece of paper folded on the table. He didn't notice it when he walked into the apartment. Naruto grabbed it and unfolded it.

'Naruto,

If you get home from your mission before me, then the reason I'm not home is that our mission was changed and now I will be gone for a few days. When I came back, we'll talk about us.

Love,  
Your Sakura-chan'

Naruto felt a little relieved that Sakura didn't just up and leave but now he was a little worried about what she would say when she got back. The 'we'll talk about us' part in her note made him a bit nervous.

The blonde sighed and decided to take a shower hoping to ease his mind at least a little. He took a much longer shower than normal as he let the hot water relax his sore muscles from the days travel. After finishing his shower, he put on a pair of black shorts and an orange t-shirt and laid on his bed. He looked out his bedroom window looking up at the purple sky. With his mind racing, Naruto knew sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" yelled Shizune as she opened the door to the Hokage's office.

"Shizune! What's the meaning of this?" yelled Tsunade who was just having her morning coffee.

"You need to come to the hospital quick," Shizune said. "Ankoku, from Sakura's team showed up this morning."

"By himself?" asked Tsunade.

"Yeah but he passed out and was suffering from chakra exhaustion, I treated him so he hasn't said anything about what's happened yet," Shizune replied.

Tsunade didn't say another word and got up from her chair and quickly headed for the hospital.

* * *

After reaching the hospital, Tsunade found Ankoku's room and she entered. The Genin was still asleep but if he was alone something bad had happened so she had to wake him up. Tsunade's hand turned green as she placed it on the Genin's forehead. Suddenly Ankoku's eyes opened up.

"Sorry to wake you up but I need to know why you're here by yourself?" asked Tsunade.

"I-I don't know," Ankoku replied. "All I can remember is we were nearing the border of Kawa no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni and Sakura-sensei fighting this guy from Tatsumaki but he managed to summon chains and defeated her. After that, she screamed for us to run away and that's what I did."

"Thank you, we'll make sure to find your friends and Sakura at once," replied Tsunade.

Tsunade walked out of Ankoku's room. Shizune was waiting.

"What did he say?" asked Shizune.

"Sakura ended up in a fight with someone from the Tatsumaki and was defeated," Tsunade said. "Sakura told the Genin to run and they did so I don't even know if Sakura is still alive along with Botsuraku Aki and Burakku Shinji."

"Are you going to tell Naruto-kun?" asked Shizune.

Tsunade looked at the ground, "Yes, I have to."

"You need me to do it?" asked Shizune.

"No, I will and I'm making up a Jounin only team so summon Naruto, Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba and Shino at once," Tsunade ordered.

"Yes Tsunade-sama," Shizune bowed and quickly headed out.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Tsuande was sitting at her desk. She was a little nervous about telling Naruto that Sakura is missing at could possibly be dead. She heard a knock come from the door and she yelled for the person to come in. The door opened revealing everyone she asked Shizune to summon for her.

"I'm sorry for bringing everyone here on such a quick notice," Tsunade said sternly. "Early this morning Kamizuki Ankoku made it to the village by himself, passing out from chakra exhaustion."

"Wait, why was he alone?" Naruto asked, he was beginning to panic.

'_I knew this was going to happen,'_ Tsunade thought seeing Naruto start to panic.

"All he could remember at the moment was that Sakura ended up in a battle with a member from the Tatsumaki. She appeared to be defeated and told her Genin to run in which they did so her fate remains unknown," Tsunade said.

Naruto felt his heart fall to pieces, it all coming back to the fight they had the night Naruto left for his mission to the Valley of the End. No kiss goodbye, no words were exchanged between the two when he left.

"I called you all here today because I'm sending you to Kawa no Kuni in hopes of finding Sakura and her other two Genin, Botsuraku Aki and Burakku Shinji."

Hinata looked over at Naruto, he looked like he was about to fall apart in front of everyone.

"Naruto, can I count you not to let your feelings get in the way of this mission?" Tsunade asked. "Because if it is, I can't let you go."

"No!" Naruto said sternly, "I have to go, I'll do my best to keep my emotions in check."

"Alright and my final say before I dismiss you to leave is that Kakashi will be the team leader of this operation," Tsunade said. "You're dismissed but Kakashi I need to speak with you in private a moment."

"Sure thing," Kakashi said.

The rest of the team Tsunade was sending out left the room and now Kakashi was alone with Tsunade.

"If Naruto's emotions become too much for him to keep in check where it's going to put the mission in jeopardy, please send his ass home!"

"I will," Kakashi said.

* * *

Naruto reached his apartment in record timing and changed into his normal outfit since he was called to Tsunade's office so quickly, he didn't bother to change at the time. Once changed, he grabbed his backpack and was ready for the trip but before he could make it out of the door he collapsed to his knees and began pounding the floor as tears he tried to hold back still leaked out from his eyes. If Sakura was dead, the fight and leaving without saying goodbye was going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

* * *

**Translations:**  
**Kawa no Kuni:** Land of Rivers

**Next Up: Kawa no Kuni**


	26. Kawa no Kuni

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Search For Tatsumaki arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 26: Kawa no Kuni**

The sun was setting as a five-man team of all Jounin consisting of Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba, Shino and Naruto jumped from tree to tree, trying to reach the border of Hi no Kuni and Kawa no Kuni. Naruto had stayed in the back of the team and had stayed quiet through the whole day. Kakashi was surprised but was glad he wasn't becoming a problem. Naruto's friends, however, were worried because it was unlike him to be so quiet.

They wanted to say something to him but they didn't know what to say to get Naruto back to his old self again. They decided to leave it alone and contiuned on their way. Once the sun nearly disappeared over the western horizon, Kakashi signaled the team to stop and decided it was time to set up camp for the night. Kakashi was afraid Naruto was going to protest and want to keep going through the night but no such protest came which finally surprised Kakashi.

Naruto quietly brought out his sleeping bag but no sleep would be coming. He offered to take the first watch over the group which Kakashi gladly allowed. After everyone had eaten their rations they brought, everyone pretty much went to sleep without a word and Naruto was sitting in a tree nearby the camp just looking up at the stars through an opening in the forest canopy.

He stared feeling lost and helpless. He hadn't felt this way in quite some time. He wanted to break down but he was deteremined not to do it while on this mission because he did not want to get forced to go back home and he still held on to hope that Sakura was still alive after all.

"A-are you o-okay, Naruto-kun?" asked a soft female voice.

It brought Naruto out of his wandering thoughts. He looked over to find Hinata taking a seat on the same branch he was sitting on looking over the camp.

"No," Naruto replied.

"Sakura-san is a s-strong woman, I b-believe she's a-alive and well," Hinata said in some way hoping to boost Naruto's spirit.

"That's not what's bothering me," Naruto continued. "What's tearing me apart is we had a fight the night before I left for my mission to the Valley of the End. We never made up and I didn't say goodbye when I left."

Hinata felt a loss for words. She didn't know what to say to that revelation. She along with Kiba and Shino believed Naruto was just scared that Sakura was killed.

"Not to be rude, but why are you up here anyway?" asked Naruto.

"I-I couldn't sleep and s-saw you so deep i-in thought that I-I thought you m-might want to t-talk," Hinata answered.

Naruto nodded and turned away to hide a tear that was escaping his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him break down and just talking about his situation was destroying him more inside. He felt so guilty for leaving without making up with Sakura first.

"Y-you feel guilty, don't y-you?" Hinata asked.

"I feel like shit," Naruto answered. "Like a total jerk."

"I-I don't know w-what I can s-say to help y-you feel b-better only that i-it will be o-okay," Hinata said.

"I don't know if it will be Hinata," Naruto said.

"G-go get some sleep, I-I'll take over watch f-for you," Hinata said deciding maybe a little sleep will help him.

Naruto nodded and thanked Hinata and jumped from the tree. When he landed on the ground he walked to his sleeping bag and got in. He faced away from the group and shut his eyes as a few tears escaped his eyes once again.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to see that it was morning. He sat up to notice everyone else was still asleep except for Kakashi who must of been on the last shift of watching over the camp. He looked deep in thought but Naruto just left it alone and walked away from the camp to do his business in the bushes out of sight. After he finished, he heard running water nearby so Naruto walked until he found a clear, flowing stream.

Naruto kneeled on the ground and took his hand and scooped water and drank it. He brought his hands back down to the water and froze when a faint image of Sakura appeared in the ripples of the water. He whipped his head up but realized nobody was there and that it was his mind playing tricks on him.

"Get it together Naruto," he said to himself.

He cupped his hands for more water and drank. After he quenched his thirst, he returned to camp where Hinata, Kiba and Shino had woken up and was packing away their sleeping bags to begin another day of traveling. Naruto knew they should reach the border by the evening.

Naruto turned his attention to rolling up his sleeping bag which he sealed inside a scroll and then placed it inside his back pack. Kakashi signled for the squad to move out and the ninja jumped into the trees with Naruto falling behind to the back.

* * *

Evening came around and Naruto didn't say a word the entire day as they traveled throughout the day. Kakashi signaled the group to stop which they did.

"We've reached the border to Kawa no Kuni," Kakashi said. "We have two parts to this mission, finding the other two Genin, Botsuraku Aki and Burakku Shinji."

Kakashi handed out copies of their ninja registration forms with their pictures to Hinata, Kiba, Shino and Naruto.

"The other part of this mission is try to find any leads to finding Sakura," Kakashi finished.

"Should Hinata use her Byakugan or me and Akamarur or even Shino's bugs?" Kiba asked.

"No not yet, there's a small village near the border of Kawa no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni where Sakura had an encounter with the Tatsumaki, we'll start from their," Kakashi answered.

"I think it's best we at least see if we can find those Genin because who knows where they are," said Shino.

"You make a valid point Shino, but if Sakura fought a member of the Tatsumaki in or near that small village, they're might be people that can lead us to the direction Aki and Shinji," Kakashi said.

"If we have to, we'll split up once we get to that village, right Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

Everyone was surprised since it was the first words Naruto had spoken all day.

"Correct," Kakashi answered. "We'll travel a little more until it gets dark then we'll stop. Tomorrow we'll reach that village and that's when we'll begin our search.

Night fell and the squad stopped for the night. Again Naruto volunteered to take first watch over camp.

'_Tomorrow,_' Naruto thought.

"How are you holding up?" Kakashi said.

Naruto looked up to his sensei and sighed, "I'm holding."

"Sakura has become a very powerful kunoichi, I don't believe she's dead-"

"Her dying isn't what's got me all tore up inside," Naruto interrupted. "It's what I did when I left for our mission to The Valley of the End."

"What did you do that's so bad?" asked Kakashi.

"We had a fight about the amount of time we've gotten to spend together since we've become Jounin Instructors for Genin and I left without saying goodbye, without giving her a kiss, without telling her I love you even though we were pissed off at each other," Naruto said.

"I can't stand here and pretend I know how you feel Naruto since I've never put myself in a situation like this," Kakashi said. "Kami forbid, Sakura is dead, even in death she's not going to blame you for anything but like I said, I don't believe she is and after watching you two grow up, I know she loves you dearly so instead of wasting your energy on feeling guilty and driving yourself insane, turn it into determination in finding her and making it up to her."

Kakashi left and Naruto sat there and let Kakashi's words soak in. Before he knew it, Hinata was there to take over. Naruto thanked Hinata and jumped out of the tree and walked to his sleeping bag and crawled into it to try to sleep for the night.

* * *

Naruto was jumping through trees in the front of the team. They were getting closer to their destination and he was determined to find Sakura. Kakashi and the others were quite surprised since Naruto had been staying in the back of their formation nearly the entire trip and now he had taken the lead.

'_Maybe our talk last night lit a fire in him,_' Kakashi thought as he looked at his student.

The team found themselves at a river which Kakashi signaled to the team to follow it. Naruto stayed out front as they followed the river. They didn't have to follow it far when they came across a village where two more rivers intersected with the river the Konoha-nin were following.

"We made it, this is the village where Sakura and her team had stopped," Kakashi said.

Naruto was the first one to land on the ground, he closed his eyes to begin to enter in Sage Mode to see if he could sense his Sakura-chan's chakra.

"Hinata, can you please scan the area with your Byakugan? If Sakura is still alive and her Genin team are still here, they maybe inside one of these homes," Kakashi ordered.

"Byakugan!" Hinata called out as the veins around her eyes popped out.

Hinata looked into each building in the small village, she looked for Sakura or the two Genin that were in the pictures that Kakashi had given them as a guide. After scanning through the village, the veins around her eyes disappeared.

"I-I didn't s-see anyone," Hinata said.

"Time for plan B," Kakashi said.

He took off his backpack and rummaged through it, he took out a red shirt from the backpack.

"Where did you get that?" Shino asked as he was watching Kakashi.

"Before we left for this village, I payed a visit to houses of the two missing Genin and asked for some kind of belongings so Akamaru could take a sniff and guide us," Kakashi replied.

Kakashi gave the red shirt to Kiba, "Please have Akamaru sniff this and see if he can find a scent."

"Sure," Kiba said as he bent down to Akamaru, "Get a good sniff of this and see if you can match the scent."

Akamaru sniffed the red shirt to get the scent and then began sniffing around the village. The team followed the dog through the village. Kakashi allowed them to go off on their own as he stayed behind to wait for Naruto to fully enter Sage Mode.

Naruto opened his eyes, which had changed to green with a horizontal pupil and dark green around his eye, he began to consentrate on chakra signatures in the area to see if he could find Sakura's. Kakashi just watched as he waited for good or bad news. After ten minutes, Naruto allowed his Sage Mode to disappear and he looked at Kakashi. Kakashi could see the defeated look on Naruto's face which meant bad news.

"Either Sakura-chan isn't anywhere around here," Naruto started.

"Or she might be dead," Kakashi finished. "Let's hope that she just isn't here,"

"Kakashi-sensei!" called out Kiba. "Akamaru found a scent!"

"Well it looks like we might have found one of the Genin at least," Kakashi said.

"Let's go then," Naruto said.

Naruto and Kakashi caught up to Kiba, Hinata and Shino and they followed Akamaru into the woods. They walked through the woods for about ten minutes as Akamaru led them out to a shack in the middle of no where. Kakashi could see that it looked abandoned but he wasn't going to take an risks.

"Alright, I'll go in first," Kakashi whispered. "Naruto will be my back up if I need it. If Naruto ends up needing help as well, Kiba and Shino you'll back him up. Hinata, if Kiba and Shino are needed, you get out of here so you can get a message out to Tsunade-sama."

Everyone agreed to the plan and Kakashi walked to the rusted metal shack alone. Naruto hid nearby to wait. Kakashi created a Kage Bunshin and sent it first. The Bunshin kicked the door in and it immediately was attacked, it dispersed and the memory of the Bunshin rushed to the real Kakashi and realized it was the girl, Aki.

"Aki, my name is Hatake Kakashi, Sakura's sensei, we were sent to retrieve you!" Kakashi yelled out.

Aki reluctantly walked out of the shack to find the silver-haired Jounin. She looked at his headband and noticed the leaf on it. Naruto walked out of the bushes and Aki recognized him, it was Sakura's boyfriend. The other three that emerged from the bushes nearby she didn't recognize but they all had Leaf headbands.

"Are you hurt?" Kakashi asked.

"No, just scared," Aki replied.

"Aki, do you know if Sakura-chan is okay?" Naruto asked.

"I- I don't know, Sakura-sensei told us to run away because the man she was fighting was too strong so we did," Aki replied. "Do you know if she's okay and where's Ankoku and Shinji?"

"We don't know if Sakura is okay, that's why we are here. To find you, her and Shinji but Ankoku managed to find his way back to the village," Kakashi answered.

"Aki, do you know which way he went?" Kiba asked.

"No, I thought they were both behind me when we started running but after I couldn't run anymore I realized I was alone," Aki replied. "I wondered around until I found this shack and I hid here hoping Sakura-sensei would find me eventually."

"At least you had found Shelter," said Kakashi.

"What do we do with her while we try and find Shinji?" asked Naruto.

"Shino, do you mind taking Aki back to Konoha?" Kakashi asked.

"No I do not," Shino replied.

"Aki, this is Aburame Shino, he'll be taking you back to Konoha, okay?" Kakashi said.

Aki nodded. Shino, feeling that the Genin might be tired offered the carry the Genin for a while to rest up. After Aki climbed onto Shino's back, he jumped into the trees to head back home.

"Do you have something with Shinji's scent so Akamaru can try to track him down as well?" asked Kiba.

Kakashi took off his backpack again and opened it up to begin digging through it. He took out a purple scarf and handed it over to Kiba.

"Alright Akamaru, time to sniff out one more person," Kiba said bending down to Akamaru to allow him to sniff the scarf.

Akamaru sniffed the scarf for a bit and then began sniffing around to see if he could pick up the scent elsewhere. The team began following Kiba and Akamaru as he sniffed around through the forest. Naruto, who was in the back, was really holding onto the hope that Sakura wasn't dead and that she had managed to escape and was heading back to the village right now.

* * *

An old man, who looked to be only five foot five, who was bald on the top of his head but had snow-white hair all the way around the side of his head. He sported a beared that had a mixture of white and gray and he had hazel eyes and he was wearing a white lab coat. Underneath the lab coat was mesh armor and he was wearing green shinobi pants and blue open-toe sandals. Following behind him was a younger man, who looked to be at least six foot tall, who had short but spikey light brown hair and brown eyes. He also was wearing a white lab coat and he was also wearing mesh armor underneath the coat. He two was wearing green shinobi pants and blue open-toe sandals. He was carrying something on his back but it was covered with a white blanket.

The old man noticed the large gates of Konohagakure coming into view which he was glad because they had reached their destination finally.

"Alright Kaiba-san, we've finally reached Konohagakure so make sure you don't give them a reason to think we are a threat," the old man said.

"Yes, Kaizan-sama, I'll make sure they know we're only helping," Kaiba said.

Kaiba then turned to the blanket he was carrying and started talking to it, "You're almost home."

* * *

Sand. An endless ocean of sand as far as the eye can see. The harsh desert wind that blew kicked up sand into the air as three ninja race across the desert, all three wearing headbands with an hourglass shape on them. They wore Chunin-level flak jackets from their village. Something in front of them caught the attention of one of the Chunin.

"Hey, hold up," said one of the Chunin.

The Chunin that stopped the team and walked over to whatever he had spotted. As he got closer he realized it was a kid with messy black hair.

"Hey, get over here, there's a kid laying in the sand!" the Chunin yelled.

The other two ran over to see the kid. The female Chunin bent down and checked the child's pulse.

"He's got a pulse, but it's weak," she said.

The other male Chunin of the team turned over the child to see his face and was surprised the kid was wearing a Konoha headband.

"This kid must be a Konoha Genin," the male Chunin that turned the kid over.

"He needs medical attention, let's take him back to the village for treatment and inform Kazekage-sama," the female Chunin said.

The male Chunin that had turned the child over to try and identify him, picked the Genin up onto his back and the three Chunin began racing through the desert once more back to their village.

* * *

**Next Time:** **Reunited**


	27. Reunited

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto**

**[Search for Tatsumaki arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 27: Reunited**

Tsunade stared out the window of her office in the Hokage Tower sipping on a glass of Sake. The evening sun was getting closer to the western horizon while thoughts of Sakura and the Tatsumaki clouded her mind. Suddenly she was brought out of those thoughts by the sound of knocking on her office door.

"Come in!" she yelled.

The door opened and Shizune walked into the office.

"Tsunade-sama, two men from Kawa no Kuni have come to the village claiming they have an injured ninja of ours."

"Who are these men and did they bring Sakura or one of her missing Genin?" Tsunade questioned.

"One of them is a retired Medical-nin named Kaizan and his assistant Kaiba but I don't know who they brought with them," Shizune answered.

"Did you say Kaizan?" asked Tsunade.

"Yes, do you know him?" asked Shizune.

"He was a head medical ninja for Iwakagure during the Third Great Ninja War, he had been trying to copy my style for years! He has some nerve showing his face to me!" Tsunade yelled.

Tsunade got up from her chair and walked out of the office. Shizune followed and knew exactly where they were going, to the village gate to see what was going on.

* * *

Day light was slowly turning into Night as Naruto rushed to get back to the village where they've been staying for the last three days. They've had no luck in finding Sakura or Shinji. Each day they go out further and further trying to find anything. Naruto finally reached the village where Kakashi, Kiba and Hinata had already returned.

"Ah just the man I wanted to see," Kakashi said as Naruto jumped down from the trees.

"I didn't find anything today," Naruto said knowing what Kakashi was going to ask.

"Tomorrow will be our last day of searching, if we find nothing, I'll have to call the search off and report back to Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said.

"But Kakashi-sensei, we can't quit, we have to find Sakura and Shinji!" Naruto protested.

"I'm sorry Naruto, if we don't find anyone tomorrow, I'll have to report back to Tsunade-sama to see what the next step is, she only gave me a five-day period starting when we arrived in this village to begin searching."

Naruto clenched his fists in anger. If Sakura was still alive and somewhere out here alone, he wasn't going to leave her out here anymore. He was determined to find her.

* * *

Tsunade and Shizune reached the village entrance where two ANBU were waiting with Kaizan and Kaiba.

"Well, well, never in a million years would I see the great Tsunade-hime again," Kaizan said when he saw her.

"You have some nerve coming here after you tried to copy my medical ninjutsu for Iwakagure for years," Tsunade said sternly.

"Back then our villages were mortal enemies and besides, I stopped trying to copy your medical ninjutsu ways a long time ago. I'm a retired old man who still uses his medical ninjutsu in a small village in Kawa no Kuni where I retired to," Kaizan said.

"Alright cut the small talk, which ninja of ours you say you found?" asked Tsunade.

Kaizan turned to Kaiba and nodded. Kaiba removed the blanket covering the person he was holding. Tsunade's eyes widened when she realized who it was.

"We need to get to the hospital quick!" she yelled.

* * *

A female with glasses wearing a brown lab coat was walking through the messenger bird keep feeding the birds when a bird landed on the window seal nearby. She walked over to the bird and realized it was from Sunagakure and there was a note attached to it. She grabbed the note from the messenger bird and made a hand seal.

"Release," she said.

The scroll opened up and she began reading it. The girl's eyes widened and quickly walked out with the scroll in hand.

* * *

Naruto closed the door to his room in the house him and the group were offered to stay in while in search for Sakura and her Genin. He didn't want to be around anyone as he just wanted to sleep. He pushed himself to search far and wide for any trace of Sakura. A knock came to his door but Naruto chose to ignore it and pretended he had already gone to sleep. The knock came a couple more times before whoever was knocking decided to give up. Tonight was just not a good night.

* * *

"Shizune-san!" yelled the female messenger.

"What is it?" asked Shizune.

"Where is Tsunade-sama?"

"She's at the hospital tending to a patient brought to us, is there something I can help you with instead?"

"I just received a message from Sunagakure, they found a ninja of ours out in the desert," the messenger said.

"They must have found Shinji then," Shizune said. "I'll go let Tsunade-sama know, she'll probably want a message sent to Kakashi."

* * *

Shizune reached the floor of the hospital where Tsunade had been tending to a patient that Kaizan had brought to the village.

"What is it Shizune, can't you see I'm a little busy here?" asked Tsunade.

"Sorry Tsunade-sama but it's urgent," Shizune replied. "A message from Sunagakure just came in saying they had found one of our ninja out in the desert."

"It has to be Shinji then since Shino arrived with Aki this morning," Tsunade said. "Send a message to Kakashi to tell them to head to Sunagakure to retrieve Shinji and bring him home."

"Right away, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said when she turned around to head back to the messenger quarters.

"There is one more thing I want you to add in that note," Tsunade said.

Shizune faced Tsuande again, "What's that Tsunade-sama?"

* * *

The morning sun glistened through the window of the room Naruto had been staying in for the last five nights. The brightness forced him awake. He laid there for a few minutes before finally sitting up. He sighed because it was the final day of their search. If the group didn't find anything today, they'd have to call off the search and return home. Before he went to sleep, Naruto decided he would send a Kage Bunshin with the group while he really stayed behind and looked for Sakura himself. He wasn't going home until he found her alive or dead.

Naruto got up and got dressed into his ninja clothes and left the room. He sat on the porch and waited for the rest of the group for their final meeting before splitting up to cover one last stretch of ground.

Kiba and Hinata soon joined him on the porch as they waited for Kakashi who Naruto knew wouldn't be out any time soon. Kiba was getting frustrated at Kakashi's tardiness but Naruto, being his student for so long, finally just got used to it and stopped complaining about it. Hinata just stayed quiet.

"Ok guys, nothing's changed, we just head out in the same directions we have been going," Kakashi said appearing out of nowhere. "The only thing that's changing is the fact that today is the last day of the search. If we don't come up with anything, we will be heading home tomorrow so I can give Tsunade-sama an update and see what she wants to do next."

Kakashi looked over at Naruto thinking he'd protest it some more but was shocked when Naruto remained quiet and just nodded. That gave Kakashi a red flag on Naruto's behavior.

'_He's planning something but I don't quite know what yet, I better keep my eye on him today._'

"Naruto, why don't you and me go the same direction today, I don't believe Sakura wondered off toward the village or we would have found her the day we got here," Kakashi said.

Naruto was surprised Kakashi asked him to tag along.

'_Damn it, I might not get a chance to give them the slip later,'_ Naruto thought.

"Ok," he said.

Before they could break off, a bird landed on Kakashi's shoulder. He moved his arm out and the bird landed on his forearm. Kakashi noticed the note.

'_This must be urgent, Tsunade-sama sent out our fastest bird.'_

He grabbed the scroll that was in a pouch on the bird's leg. After Kakashi took the scroll, the bird flew back in the direction of Konohagakure. Kakashi made a hand seal to unlock the seal and began reading its contents.

"Well guys, there's been a change in our plans," Kakashi said.

"What does that scroll say?" Kiba asked.

"We just got ourselves a new mission. We are to head to Sunagakure to pick up Shinji, seems they had found him in the desert two days ago," Kakashi said.

"You all go ahead, I'm going to stay here and continue looking for Sakura," Naruto said.

"No, you're coming to," Kakashi said.

"I'm not going anywhere else until I find Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested.

"You're going Naruto, once we get Shinji, we can return here and continue looking for Sakura," Kakashi said sternly.

"Fine!" Naruto growled.

"Alright guys, let's pack up our stuff and we'll head off to Sunagakure in thirty, dismissed," Kakashi said.

"It better be some good news," Naruto muttered under his breath.

* * *

Thirty minutes passed and everyone had packed up their belongings and reached the border to Kaze no Kuni. Naruto looked back one last time before entering the desert behind Kakashi, Kiba and Hinata.

"_Sakura-chan, if you're out there somewhere, just hold on a little longer. I will find you even if it kills me.'_

The group traveled through the desert with chakra concentrated to their feet to help them get across the sand quicker. Kakashi wanted to get to Sunagakure as fast as he could in hopes to keep Naruto from getting out of hand because the next outburst the young Jounin had, Kakashi was going to send him home.

Evening reached the desert and Kakashi saw the massive wall that looked like a staircase in the distance. The group did it, they made it to Kaze no Suni before sunset. If they had been traveling at normal speed, they'd would have had to set up camp for a night before reaching the village but not this time.

The sun was just about set when the Konoha-nin reached the entrance to Sunagakure. One of the guards came up to Kakashi.

"You must be here for that Genin that was found, right?" the guard asked.

"Yes, that would be us." Kakashi answered.

The other guard stepped forward.

"You guys may enter," the second guard said. "That Genin is still in our hospital."

Kakashi nodded and the Konoha-nin walked through the village entrance. Once they made it passed the wall, they entered the village with buildings made of hardened sand. Kakashi remembered where the village's hospital was from when Gaara was captured by the Akatsuki.

After walking through the village for a bit, Kakashi led the group to Suna's hospital. The group entered the hospital and walked up to the desk.

"Can I help you?" asked a nurse with short brown hair and hazel eyes. She was wearing a white labcoat.

"We're here to pick up a Konoha Genin that was brought here after being found in the desert, the patients name is Shinji," Kakashi answered.

"Ah yes, Kazekage-sama was expecting you," the nurse said as she got up from her chair. "Follow me."

Kiba and Hinata decided to stay in the waiting room believing they would just be in the way to which Kakashi honored. Naruto decided to go with Kakashi. They followed the nurse down a hallway full of hospital rooms. They reached a staircase and walked up it to the second floor and walked down another hallway of rooms. Naruto recognized one of the man standing by the door. Short red hair and the kanji for 'love' on the left side of his forehead and dark circles around his eyes. He was wearing his Kazekage robe.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm surprised to see you here," the man said.

"Gaara," Naruto whispered as the two shook hands. "It's good to see you too."

"Kazekage-sama," Kakashi said. "So how was this boy found?"

"A team of Chunin were heading out on a scouting mission when they came across the boy. They brought him here because he was suffering from extreme dehydration. I would, however, like to know how one of your Genin was out there all alone," Gaara explained.

"I don't know the details but Shinji is a student under one of our Jounin, Haruno Sakura. We believe she was attacked by a member of the Tatsumaki and while she was fighting this person, she told her Genin to run away," Kakashi explained.

"Well that clears up some things," Gaara said. "However, it's interesting you mention the Tatsumaki. The Chunin that found your village's Genin, I had sent them out to locate this Tatsumaki. I had got wind of some intelligence that they were having some sort of meeting here in Kaze no Kuni."

"Really? That explains why their hideout at the Valley of the End was empty," Kakashi said.

"What do you know about this group anyway? Are they anything like the Akatsuki?" asked Gaara.

"We don't know much about the group or what they are after," Kakashi answered. "Me and Naruto along with his Genin team, however, ended up battling them in Nami no Kuni. All we know is they were trying to take control of Nami no Kuni's port but we managed to stop them. I have to say they're just as powerful as the Akatsuki."

"I believe their leader is a man that goes by the alias Totosai, but his real name is Kurosaki Kami. That bastard killed the parents of one of my students," Naruto said as he clenched his fists. "If you find him, kill him. I'm trying everything to keep this student of mine to ever walk the same path as Sasuke did."

"I will," Gaara said. "Is that everything you know about this Tatsumaki?"

"Yes it is," Kakashi replied.

"Well the boy is ok and ready to go whenever you wish to leave, he was kept here just for observation," Gaara said. "Although it's night time and you can stay the night here in the village."

"I think that would be the best option, I think everyone is exhausted from trying to get here so fast," Kakashi said.

"I was quite surprised you guys got here so fast, we sent that message to Konoha four days ago, we were expecting it to take at least six before anyone from Konoha would show up," Gaara said.

"We were already in Kawa no Kuni looking for the other two Genin that were on the same team as Shinji here," Kakashi replied.

"That explains it," Gaara said. "Well I must return to the Kazekage's office. Enjoy your stay here in Sunagakure tonight."

"We will," Kakashi said.

Gaara shook hands with Naruto one more time and walked down the hall and out of site. Kakashi and Naruto entered the room where Sunagakure was keeping Shinji.

"Naruto-sensei?" Shinji said surprised. "You must be Sakura-sensei's sensei, what are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we've come to take you back to Konoha," Kakashi said.

"You wouldn't happen to know if Sakura-chan is alive, do you?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, when Sakura-sensei began fighting that red-haired freak, she told us to run away which we did," Shinji answered. "We tried to stay and help her but she told us to run and get back to the village to tell Hokage-sama but I got lost and ended up in the desert. I didn't want to turn back to the forest and end up face to face with that guy again so I kept going and I ended up passing out. When I finally came to I was here."

"It's ok, thanks anyway," Naruto said.

The blonde lowered his head and walked out the door and headed downstairs to the lobby.

"This red-haired freak, was he wearing a blue cloak?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah he did," answered Shinji.

"Thanks for being honest, get some rest," Kakashi said. "Tomorrow we head back to Konoha."

* * *

Naruto walked past Kiba and Hinata without saying a word and walked outside. He mindlessly walked down the street where he found an inn to stay in. Luckily it wasn't too far from Suna's hospital so the others would probably come here too. He checked in and got his room which he was surprised when the attendant told him that the Kazekage had put him and the group up for free. Naruto walked upstairs to his room and entered. He sat on top of the bed and just stared at the ground.

Naruto was losing his faith in ever finding Sakura. Thoughts of her being dead had flooded into his mind again and was shattering his resolve. He felt warm liquid coming from his eyes, it trickled down his cheeks and dripped to the floor.

"Why did I leave on that mission without saying anything to her?" Naruto asked himself through the tears.

"Goddamn it!" Naruto yelled.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to sunlight coming into his room. He realized he had fallen asleep in his clothes. He came to when he heard knocking on his door. It scared him since he didn't tell anyone where he was.

"Naruto, it's time to go," Kakashi said from the other side of the door.

Naruto grabbed his belongings and exited his room. He met up with Kakashi, Kiba and Hinata in the lobby and the all walked out of the inn without a word. They reached the hospital where Shinji was waiting in the waiting room as he had been discharged an hour earlier.

The group reached the village entrance where Gaara saw them off. Soon they were in the desert again. However, this time they were not going as fast as they had been when they were trying to reach Sunagakure.

Naruto didn't say anything. He thought about asking to speed things up but he decided it didn't matter anymore. He had decided that it was time to accept that Sakura was probably dead and he'd never find her. He would have to live with the guilt for the rest of his life that he didn't even tell her he loved her before even if they were pissed off at each other.

"Naruto, you're awfully quiet back there, what's wrong?" Kiba said.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just ready to go home," Naruto answered.

"You are, are you?" Kakashi asked. "Well that's good because I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Naruto wondered.

"I lied to you yesterday, we are not going back to look for Sakura," Kakashi answered. "There was more in that message and I was instructed not to tell you until we picked up Shinji from Sunagakure. The reason we are not going back to look for Sakura is we don't need to anymore. A retired medical-nin that lives in that village were looking around, took Sakura back to Konoha, she's alive."

Naruto's eyes widened, he couldn't believe what Kakashi had just said.

"S-she's alive?" Naruto questioned to make sure he heard right.

Kakashi looked at Naruto with his genuine eye smile, "Yes, she's alive."

Suddenly, the black cloud that Naruto felt was following him around the last few days just disappeared. He was so relieved that she was alive. When he got back home, he was going to make it up to her in more ways than one. Naruto, in all of his excitement, jumped ahead of the group trying to get home as fast as he could.

* * *

Three days seemed like an eternity to get home but finally, Naruto was walking through the gates of Konohagakure. Kiba and Hinata went their separate ways while Kakashi stated he was going to debrief with Tsunade.

Naruto made his way to the hospital as quick as he could. He moved through the village so fast, he felt like he basically teleported to the hospital. He walked inside and walked up the nurse's desk.

"May I help you?" the nurse with long, curly dirty blonde hair and blue eyes who was wearing a white coat and white pants.

"Do you still have a Haruno Sakura as a patient here?" asked Naruto.

"Yes I do, you may see her if you like. She's in recovery room 105," the nurse said.

Naruto walked down the hall and into the recovery wing of the Konoha hospital. He read off the numbers of the room until he reached the room he was looking for, '105'. Naruto never felt so nervous in his life. He didn't know what he was about to walk into but he swallowed his nervousness and opened the door. He walked into the room to see here alert and awake. With the sight of him, her eyes teared up.

"Naruto-kun."

* * *

**Next Time: A New Challenge**

* * *

**Just want to take the time out once again to thank everyone that's reviewed the story. I hope you all continue to enjoy this story.**

**And for those that review and ask me questions, I'm sorry I don't answer them but I really don't want to spoil anything from the story. Just be patient with me, you will get your answers through the story.**


	28. Normal Again

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**[Light Duty Mini-arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 28: Normal Again**

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes began to tear up as his name was called out in her voice. A voice he almost believed he would never hear again but here she was, alive and well in Konoha's hospital. Naruto rushed to her side and grabbed a hold of her hand. She, however, pulled him in and hugged him and gave him a passionate kiss.

"I'm so sorry for being a jerk before…"

"It's okay, it doesn't matter anymore," Sakura interrupted. "I'm just so glad you're here now. You just need to know that I love you"

"I love you too," Naruto said. "So how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better, Tsunade-sama said I'll be released tomorrow," Sakura answered.

"What happened out there?" Naruto asked.

"I don't remember," Sakura said. "All I can remember is I found a man wearing that blue cloak about to hurt and elderly man, after that I can't remember anything. Tsunade-sama said when I was brought back, I was unconscious from near chakra depletion and she said I might have taken a blow to the head."

"Sakura-chan, I was so scared that I had lost you," Naruto said, getting emotional. "Nothing has ever scared me this much since Gaara during the Chunin Exams until now."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped into a fight with these Tatsumaki ninja," Sakura said, squeezing Naruto's hand.

Silence fell between the two as Naruto tried to calm himself down. Sakura was waiting for Naruto to feel better before asking him about her students.

"Has Ankoku or Aki come by to see you?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, I regained consciousness yesterday morning," answered Sakura. "I haven't asked Tsunade about them."

"Ankoku is the one who made it to the village and made us aware you were in trouble in the first place," Naruto began. "Tsunade-baachan arranged a team of me, Hinata, Kiba and Shino led by Kakashi-sensei to find you and your other two students. The first day of our search, we found Aki and send her back with Shino. We just got back from picking Shinji up from Sunagakure's hospital."

"Shinji ended up in Sunagakure?" asked Sakura. "I feel like a horrible teacher for telling them to run away."

"No, you're not," Naruto said. "You did the right thing, these Tatsumaki ninja are not to be taken lightly."

"You let your team fight off the Tatsumaki when you went to rescue Konohamaru in Nami no Kuni," Sakura. "So I feel like I didn't believe in my students' ability to help fight."

"What happened in Nami no Kuni was different, my Genin were attacked and forced to fight, if I had been in your situation, I would have told them to run too."

There was a knock on the door and Sakura yelled for whoever it was to come in. The door opened to reveal her three students.

"I'll let you have some time with your students," Naruto said and he walked out.

* * *

The door opened to Naruto's apartment as Naruto carefully ushered Sakura into the living room. He sat her down on the couch and went to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the top cabinet and filled it with water. He walked back to the couch with the water and gave it to Sakura who took it from his hand and drank it. She finished it without stopping to take a breath. Naruto took the glass from Sakura and placed it in the sink.

"I was a real mess when we were searching for you and your team," Naruto said breaking the silence. "I didn't know what to do and I felt like shit thinking that you might have died and the last things we had said to each other was a dumb fight."

Sakura got up and walked over to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I'm so sorry you went through all of this but let's make a promise right now," Sakura said.

"What kind of a promise?" asked Naruto.

"No matter the fight, let's promise not to go to bed or go out on missions angry at each other so that we never have to feel this way again," Sakura answered.

Naruto turned around and was now face to face with Sakura. Sakura was surprised to see tears had been leaking from his eyes.

"I promise," Naruto said and the two kissed passionately.

The two broke the intense kiss and Naruto finally felt better than he had in the last week. The sound of Sakura's stomach broke him out of his thoughts and he laughed a bit.

"You keep resting and I'll make us some instant ramen," Naruto said.

At first, Sakura was going to protest the instant ramen but decided against it since it was the only thing he could really make besides toast.

"Ok, thanks," Sakura said as she sat back down on the couch.

Naruto grabbed two instant ramen cups from the food pantry and filled an kettle with water to boil it. While doing this, a knock came to the door.

"Who could that be?" asked Sakura. "You expecting any visitors today?"

"No I wasn't," Naruto said as he walked to the door.

He opened it to find Ankoku, Aki and Shinji at the door. Naruto was surprised, he didn't realize they knew where Sakura lived.

"Who is it Naruto?" Sakura yelled from the other room.

Naruto didn't say anything to Sakura's students but placed his finger up to his mouth signaling them to be quiet. The three Genin nodded and quietly followed Naruto into the apartment.

"Well, who is it?" Sakura asked again.

"Oh, just these three kids," Naruto said as Ankoku, Aki and Shinji appeared.

"Ankoku, Aki, Shinji, what are you all doing here?" asked Sakura.

"We went by the hospital today to see if you were okay, but Hokage-sama said you had just been discharged and then she told us you were living with Naruto-sensei and where he lived," Aki answered. "We also got you these."

Aki held up a bouquet of yellow and white flowers and attached was a get well card.

"Thank you guys so much," Sakura said.

"So are you okay, Sakura-sensei?" asked Shinji.

"Yes, I am fine. I just need to rest for a few days and I'll be back to normal," Sakura answered.

"Hokage-sama gave us a week off, so where do you want to meet up next week for a first mission back from our medical leave?" asked Ankoku.

"Same place at the same time," Sakura answered.

"We better get going but I, I mean we are glad you're okay," Aki said.

The three Genin left and Naruto closed the door and locked it.

"Sweet kids, which kind of freaked me out since Hiroshi told me those three always antagonize him, Shiro and Himawari," Naruto said.

"Well, kids will be kids," Sakura said.

"Oh, the ramen!" Naruto said as he scurried back to the kitchen.

* * *

"I'm tired of these lame ass missions we've been given for the past week!" yelled Hiroshi. "When is Naruto-sensei going to get back!"

"You've been saying the same thing every day since Naruto-sensei left, can you please just shut up!" Shiro added.

"Shiro's right, you should be more patient, Naruto-sensei will return soon," Himawari said.

Hiroshi went quiet as they waited for their temporary sensei. As time passed and that sensei hadn't shown up yet made Hiroshi believe Naruto was finally back.

"So did you guys miss me," said a voice that Hiroshi recognized.

The three Genin turned around to find Naruto standing on a tree branch above them.

"Naruto-sensei!" Hiroshi yelled. "I'm so glad you are back!"

"I'm glad to be back," Naruto said.

"So what amazingly cool mission are we going on today?" asked Hiroshi.

Naruto looked at Hiroshi like the kid was going crazy.

"He's been like this since you left," Shiro said. "He's been wanting a real mission for days."

Naruto sighed, "Well I hate to disappoint you Hiroshi, but we won't be doing any 'amazingly cool' missions today. Your finishing your crop harvesting mission that you started yesterday."

"Ah man, I want a real mission!" protested Hiroshi.

"I know, but Tsunade-baachan put us on light duty until the end of the week to help me recover from that emergency mission."

Hiroshi sighed, "I understand."

* * *

Naruto opened the door to his apartment. Sakura was sitting on the couch drinking a glass of water. It was already night time as his team didn't finish their mission until nearly sunset. Sakura was happy he was home as Naruto sat on the couch next to her and the two shared a kiss.

"You look tired; you have a rough day?" asked Sakura.

"Not rough, just long," Naruto answered. "I wanted them to finish their D rank mission today and it ended up taking all day."

"I was kind of worried you were sent off on another week long mission or something without telling me," Sakura said.

"No, Tsunade-baachan is keeping us on light duty for the rest of the week. She also said something about something big is going to be happening here soon as well so we'll see," Naruto said. "Besides, she wants me here to take care of you while you recover from those broken ribs you suffered."

Naruto pulled out a scroll and walked to the table and opened it. Naruto released the seal and Ichiraku Ramen appeared.

"Come and eat, I brought home dinner," Naruto said.

Sakura smiled as Naruto helped her to her feet and walked to the table to sit down and eat.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay in getting the next chapter out and that its a bit short. I decided to write a small arc to have a little break from the action. This small arc will only be two chapters long but enjoy.**

**Next Up: Without A Trace**


	29. Without A Trace

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**[Light Duty Mini-arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 29: Without A Trace**

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha making his way to the training grounds in which he met up with his team. It was the final day of his light duty and he was going to give his team the day off but with Sakura deciding to visit her parents, he decided he would have them do another D ranked mission for the day.

"Although, I'm going to have to hear Hiroshi complain about having to do another lame mission," he said under his breath.

Naruto arrived at the training grounds to find his team waiting. Hiroshi was practicing the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Himawari was watching Hiroshi practice while Shiro was sitting on the ground.

"Good morning guys," Naruto said.

"Naruto-sensei, are we going to get a better mission today?" Hiroshi asked as he dispersed his replications.

Naruto sighed, "I'm sorry Hiroshi but most likely we are not going to get anything above a D rank today."

"Ugh," Hiroshi whined. "These lame D rank missions are getting boring, I want something more exciting!"

Naruto shook his head, '_Now I understand how Kakashi-sensei felt when I acted like this when I first started out._'

"Come on, let's get to the Hokage's office to see what we are assigned to do for today," Naruto said and the group left the training grounds.

* * *

"Well Naruto, the only thing I have for your team is cleaning out Konoha Creek," Tsunade said as she examined the mission lists.

"Wow really?" Naruto asked.

"The other Genin teams took on more than one mission," Tsunade explained. "And that's with giving Sakura's team the day off."

"Well I guess we have no choice but to accept," Naruto said.

"Oh and Naruto, I need to speak with you in private," Tsunade said.

"Alright guys, just wait for me outside and we'll head off to Konoha Creek," Naruto ordered.

Hiroshi closed the office door after Shiro and Himawari exited out of the Hokage's office. Shiro and Himawari sat in a couple of chairs down the hall from the office while Hiroshi paced up and down the hallway.

"Man this sucks, we have to spend the day picking out trash from the damn creek," Hiroshi complained.

"Hiroshi, you should be glad that we are even doing missions with Naruto-sensei," Shiro said. "It was worse when Naruto-sensei was gone for over a week."

Hiroshi sighed, "I know but I just want another exciting mission like when we were searching for those Tatsumaki people or going to to rescue Konohamaru-san in Nami no Kuni."

"But Hiroshi-kun, those missions were really dangerous and we shouldn't have even gone on those missions since we are only Genin," Himawari said.

"Himawari, you managed to kill a Jounin level ninja back in Nami no Kuni," Hiroshi said, trying to justify his want of a better mission.

"That was an accident, I wasn't trying to kill her, I was just trying to buy time to escape you big meanie!" Himawari yelled as she turned away, tears falling.

"Nice going Hiroshi, you made Himawari cry," Shiro said.

"Um, what did I miss?" Naruto asked. He had walked out of the Hokage's office without his team noticing.

"Hiroshi complaining about doing our D ranked mission and he made Himawari cry," Shiro answered.

"Listen Hiroshi, I know you like doing those higher ranked missions but you are a first year Genin which means you should be doing only D ranked missions right now," Naruto scolded. "When we got those missions, we were the only team available to do it at the time so you need to be prepared for times like this were we _only _get D rank missions."

Hiroshi looked to the ground.

'_Man I am such a hypocrite because I always did the same thing when I was his age._'

"And how did you make Himawari upset?" Naruto asked, the tone in his voice turning from scolding to care.

"I brought up that ninja she killed during our mission to rescue Konohamaru-san," Hiroshi answered.

"I see, well I think you should go apologize before we head out to begin our mission," Naruto suggested.

Hiroshi walked to where Himawari was, she was trying to hold back tears and forget about the memory of that night.

"Hima-chan, I'm sorry I brought that up," Hiroshi said sincerely. "I didn't mean to make you cry, so please stop. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Himawari said. "I really need to stop being so sensitive about that, she was an enemy after all."

"We all good now?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," all three said in unison.

"Alright, we better head on out to Konoha Creek," Naruto said.

* * *

Naruto sat underneath a tree as his team, wearing weaved baskets on their backs, picked out cans and other trash from the creek. He looked just below the tree limbs to watch the clouds slowly float by in the sky. He occasionally turned back to make sure his team were still working and then turn his attention back to the clouds. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"Are all these reports correct?" asked Tsunade.

"It appears so, the spy network have confirmed that in deed the Tatsumaki have just disappeared," Shizune replied.

"How can these just disappear?" asked Tsuande. "Just the other day they were being spotted all around Hi no Kuni."

"Maybe our pursuit of them has caused them to go into hiding," said Shizune.

"I don't know Shizune," Tsunade said. "Wait, what about our infiltrater?"

"He hasn't reported in for a couple of weeks," Shizune admited. "We're fearing he's gone rogue."

Tsunade slammed her fist on her desk, "Damn it!"

"Hopefully they'll stay gone," Shizune said.

"I highly doubt it," -Tsunade said.

* * *

"Why the is it so dark in here?" asked a male.

"Quiet Ni," said another male.

"Well you said for all of us to come here because _he_ wanted to talk with us all, Totosai!" yelled Ni.

"He did but I don't know why his hideout is so dark," said Totosai.

The lights suddenly came on revealing five people wearing blue cloaks. However on a chair sat a body with a sword pierced through his heart.

"How the fuck?" said Sho.

"Now that he's dead, I think I've earned the right to become the leader of this organization," said a voice in the darkness.

The figure in the shadows only stepped out enough for Totosai to see a red eye with three black coma shapes and his eyes widened.

"Sharingan!" gasped Totosai. "That means your Hachi, the newest member Ookawa-sama told me about and wanted to introduce to the rest of the organization, but why kill him?"

"Now you all are going to help me in starting a revolution to change the Shinobi world," said Hachi.

"Why in the fuck would we do that?" asked Sho.

"Don't play stupid with me, Ookawa told me his plan of creating a weapon and wipe out all the Hidden Villages in order to create a utopia where nobody was bound by the rules of being a Shinobi," Hachi said. "So you can either follow my lead, or die."

"There is..."

"Shut up Sho," Totosai said. "If he managed to kill Ookawa-sama, he certainly would be able to kills any of us without breaking as much as a sweat. Fine, the Tatsumaki is now yours so what is your plan Hachi?"

* * *

It was late afternoon as Naruto and his team headed back to the Hokage's office to turn in the completed mission. Naruto couldn't help but notice a few ninjas had arrived for Sunagakure and Kusagakure. He wondered if his students had noticed to.

"Why is there ninja from Sunagakure and Kusagakure doing here?" Hiroshi whispered to Himawari.

"I don't know, I was wondering the same thing," Himawari whispered back.

"They probably just need our help with something," Shiro added.

The team reached the Hokage's office where Naruto gave Tsunade a briefing of the completed mission, along with the fee the person who requested the mission payed. Naruto and his group received their share and Naruto dismissed his team for the day.

After leaving the Hokage's office, Naruto headed home. He reached his apartment building and walked up the stairs to the second floor. Once he reached his door, he unlocked it and entered to find Sakura cooking.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," Naruto said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Well I thought since we were busy all day with your team that I'd fix you some dinner," replied Sakura.

She turned around in Naruto's arms where the two formally greeted each other with a passionate kiss.

"I'm going to get washed up before dinner is ready," Naruto said.

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto was out of the shower and dressed in black pants and a black t-shirt with an orange Konoha symbol.

"Just in time," Sakura said as she placed a bowl in front of Naruto.

"Ramen? Really?" Naruto aksed excitedly.

"Yes and it's homemade, I hope you like it."

Naruto and Sakura ate in silence, mostly because Naruto was enjoying the homecooked ramen. After he finished dinner he finally had time to speak.

"Tsunade-baachan told me the Chuunin exams were coming up and they're being held here this year," Naruto said.

"That explains why I saw a few ninja from Sunagakure and Kusagakure today," Sakura said.

"Yeah I saw them to," Naruto added. "Tsunade-baachan also told me she's going to allow the rookie Genin to enter the exams as well, if we think they are ready. It will be the first time rookie Genin would be allowed in five years."

"Do you think they're ready?" Sakura asked.

"I have to say, my team had a D rank intel gathering mission turned A Rank, an A Rank rescue mission and a B Rank search mission within the first four months of them being a Genin and they are doing extremely well so yeah, I believe they can hack it," Naruto replied.

"Yeah I feel like my students are able to compete in the examinations as well," said Sakura.

Naruto grinned, "We will get to see which team is better."

"And that would be mine," Sakura said.

"Oh yeah, you want to bet?" Naruto asked.

"What could you possibly give me that I would want to win?" asked Sakura.

"That vacation at that mountain resort town you've been begging me to take you on for the last six months," Naruto offered.

"Are you being serious or just playing on a girl's emotions?" asked Sakura.

"No I mean it, if your team beats mine, I'll take you on that trip," Naruto offered again.

"And what would you get if somehow your team managed to win?" asked Sakura.

"Kind of hard when I already got what I had always wanted," Naruto replied.

Sakura giggled, "But seriously, what would you get out of this bet?"

"You stop trying to make me eat those nasty vegetables," Naruto said.

Sakura smiled, "Deal."

* * *

**Translations:**  
**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** Shadow Replication Technique  
**Nami no Kuni:** Land of Waves  
**Nami no Hi:** Land of Fire  
**Sunagakure: **Hidden Sand  
**Kusagakure:** Hidden Grass

**Next Up:** **A New Challenge**


	30. A New Challenge

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**[Chunin Exam: Hunt Arc]**

* * *

**Chapter 30: A New Challenge**

The morning sun danced through the apartment window of Uzumaki Naruto. He was already awake and sitting at the table eating breakfast with the love his life, Haruno Sakura. Today was just the beginning of a very busy few weeks because of one event he was told about just a few days ago

**FLASHBACK:**

_"Another D rank mission completed," Naruto said._

_"Good, well that's all I have for today,you and your team are dismissed," Tsunade said. "Although I need to talk to you in private first."_

_Naruto dismissed his team for the day and watched them leave the Hokage's office._

_"What do you need to see me for?" asked Naruto._

_"Just a heads up, the Chunin exams are coming up and I'm letting the rookie Genin participate in it this year," Tsunade said._

_"Why are you telling me this before everyone else?" Naruto asked._

_"Because you and Sakura are the only ones that have first year Genin," answered Tsunade. "Considering Sakura is still nursing healing broken ribs, I figure I tell you and you can tell her."_

**End of Flashback.**

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, bring Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah sorry, I was just thinking," Naruto answered.

"Thinking about what?" asked Sakura.

"I was just thinking about the Chunin exams Tsunade-baachan told me about the other day," Naruto said. "She only told me they were going to begin soon."

"Well with Shinobi coming from other villages, I'm sure they're going to begin any day now," Sakura replied.

As Sakura placed dishes in the sink to wash, both her and Naruto heard a knock on the front door. Naruto got up from the table and unlocked the door and opened it and was surprised to see Shizune.

"Shizune-niichan, what's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura-san, Tsunade-sama has summoned you," Shizune said.

"Thanks Shizune-san, we'll be there as soon as we can," Sakura replied.

"I will let Tsunade-sama know," Shizune said and walked away.

Naruto closed the door and he and Sakura went to the bedroom to change into their Jounin uniform. As soon as they were ready to go, they left the apartment. Naruto locked the door and they were off, holding hands.

* * *

A knock came to the door as Tsunade looked up from the mile high stack of paperwork that was on her desk.

"Come in!" she yelled.

The door opened and Naruto and Sakura walked into the office.

"Just the two squad leaders I wanted to see," Tsunade said.

"What's going on Tsunade-baachan?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto, a few days ago I already told you that the Chunin exams were coming soon so I called you both in here because this years Chunin exam is going to focus on a ninja's ability to be ready for an emergancy mission at a moment's notice," Tsunade explained.

"You all know a Chunin is a leader when needed, and mission readiness is a key so the Chunin exam is going to start today at noon," Tsuande continued.

"At noon, today? That's an extreme short notice!" Sakura said shocked.

"Like I said, the test will be based on mission readiness, an emergancy mission can arise at any time," Tsunade said.

"I have the official announcements from the other two Konoha-nin squads, I just need your official announcement," Tsuande said.

"Uzumaki Naruto, leader of Team Eleven, Kurosaki Hiroshi, Kubo Himawari and Suzuki Shiro, I recommend all three from the Chunin exams," Naruto announced first.

"Haruno Sakura, leader of Team Twelve, Botsuraku Aki, Kamizuki Ankoku and Borakku Shinji, I recommend all three from the Chunin exams," Sakura announced.

"Good," Tsunade said as she handed Naruto and Sakura papers. "These are the sign up forms for the exams, they have until noon to have them filled out and in your hands."

Naruto and Sakura took the sign up forms from Tsunade.

"The fourth sheet is an explanation of the first test that you'll announce to your team if all three turn in their sign up forms on time," continued Tsunade.

"They're going on a scavenger hunt?" Naruto questioned as he read the paper.

"I guess you can call it that in a way," Tsunade said. "Never the less, that's all I need to explain to you, you are dismissed."

* * *

"Looks like we're not going to see much of each other for the next few days," Naruto said.

"Yeah, since I've been recovering from my broken ribs, my team has been on standby, now I got to round them all up," Sakura said.

"Fortunately, I got mine coming to our usual spot in thirty minutes," Naruto added.

"Just don't forget our bet though," Sakura said, winking.

Naruto laughed, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I haven't."

The two leaned in for a passionate kiss and after the two broke, they went their seperate ways.

Naruto reached the training grounds where he meets up with his team every morning and they were there, waiting. He was surprised they were all there, and early too.

"This is a sight I never thought I'd see, everyone here and early too," Naruto said.

"Naruto-sensei!" Hiroshi called out.

"Good morning, Naruto-sensei," said Himawari.

As usual, Shiro just greeted Naruto with a nod.

"So Naruto-sensei, are we finally going to go on amazingly cool mission today?" asked Hiroshi.

"Hiroshi, would you stop bugging Naruto-sensei for a mission that could get us killed?" Shiro said.

"Wow, this _is_ a day for firsts, you actually said more than two words Shiro," Hiroshi said.

Himawari giggled as Shiro turned, facing away from Hiroshi. Naruto sighed as he let the team work it out.

"To answer Hiroshi's question to having an amazingly cool mission depends on how you see this," Naruto said as he gave his students the forms.

"What are these?" asked Hiroshi.

"Those are sign up forms for the Chunin exams," answered Naruto.

"Chunin exam? What's that?" asked Himawari.

"Well the Chunin exams is a series of tests that you endure to show your skills to the Hokage and the Feudal Lord of Hi no Kuni to determine if you'll be promoted from Genin to Chunin," Naruto explained. "It's also a friendly competition between allied nations that keep the balance of power between everyone."

"Have we been a good enough team to be able to qualify to take this test?" Shiro asked.

"Well Shiro, considering the two A ranked missions we were on, I think you guys are more than qualified," Naruto answered. "However, signing up from the Chunin exams is your choice and only yours."

The three Genin were about to sit and begin filling out the form.

"There's one more thing, make sure you are really sure you want to participate, the Chunin exams are no joke and just might be the hardest thing than any mission you've been on yet but you will have to chose quickly, you only have until noon to return those forms to me," Naruto said.

"We have to carefully make a decision that might affect our lives in only four hours?" asked Himawari.

"Pretty much," replied Naruto. "Take that form home, look it over and really make sure you want to do this in the four hours you have and I'll be waiting right here for any of you that decide you want to participate after all."

"We'll see you later then, Naruto-sensei," said Hiroshi.

Naruto watched as his team went off in different directions

'_Hiroshi will definately come back and Shiro probably will to, however, Himawari I'm a little worried about and Hiroshi and Shiro will be disappointed if she decides not to._'

* * *

Hiroshi opened the front door to his empty house. He walked inside and sat on his couch and placed the Chunin exam form on the table. He stared at it for a while, he felt ready to take on this challenge but he knew he'd be going up against other ninja from the village and other villages as well. This was the first time since becoming a Genin he was intimidated by something.

"No, I can't chicken out, Naruto-sensei depends on me and the team depends on me trying this out, I have to do this," Hiroshi said.

He took his pen and began filling out the form.

* * *

Shiro reached his home where he was greeted by his parents who were also surprised he was home so early. He showed them the form and his parents just told him to do what he felt was right.

He went to his room to be alone to think it over a while. Once he got into his room, he glanced over the form and he began trying to figure out Hiroshi's and Himawari's view of the Chunin exam. He did come to the conclusion that Hiroshi would definately jump in head first into these exams, he just couldn't grasp at what Himawari would do.

Shiro sighed as he stared at the form, he wanted to put his clan's abilities to the test and there was no better why than the Chunin exams especially if they came up against teams from other villages. With that in mind and with the fact that he knew Hiroshi would participate, Shiro decided he would sign up for the Chunin exams as well. Shiro picked up his pen and started filling out the form.

* * *

Himawari stared at the form. She felt like she really wasn't ready for this kind of test. Everything what she heard from her parents about the Chunin exams, it just seemed extremely dangerous and out of her league. She knew however if she didn't participate, she'd let down Hiroshi and Shiro.

"I need to do this for them and for me," she said to herself. "I need some growth as a kunoichi."

With her decision, she began filling out the form.

* * *

"So what do you have planned here in Iwagakure, Hachi?" Totosai asked.

Totosai and the rest of the Tatsumaki were on a cliff looking towads a village built through the mountains.

"To begin my Shinobi reform, I must kill all the Kage, starting with the one we were closest to, the Tsuchikage," replied Hachi.

After hearing the plan Hachi was coming up with, he knew they would fail. The five of them couldn't possibly hold off an entire village and then manage to assassinate the Tsuchikage on top of it all.

'_With Hachi killing Ookawa, now I can ditch his original plans and focus on my own agenda now,_' Totosai thought as he smirked.

"You know Hachi," Totosai began. "The five of us are not going to be able to stop an entire village from protecting their Tsuchikage from assassination."

"Go on, I'm listening," Hachi said.

"Since my time in the Tatsumaki, serving Ookawa-sama, I've been searching for a certain ninja that wasn't killed, but sealed away, on my own time and just recently I may have found the location," Totosai explained.

"What does finding an ninja who was sealed away have to do with my reform?" asked Hachi.

"Well since Roku is from the Uzumaki clan, his knowledge of seals might allow me to release the seal and free this ninja from his prison and he just maybe willing to help us," Totosai answered.

"How is this ninja so special that he could help us kill the Kage?" asked Hachi.

"His name is Kurosaki Gekkou, his special ninjutsu would help you destory the Kage and realize your goal of reforming the shinobi system," Totosai explained.

"How special is his ninjutsu?" Hachi asked, continuing his interrogation.

"His ninjutsu is known as the **Tsukiton**," Totosai answered. "It allows him to manipulate the light from the moon, although, Gekkou was able to manipulate the darkness of night time as well."

"I don't need..."

"Gekkou created the most powerful ninjutsu, **Tsukiton: Gekkou Sanryoukou no Jutsu** which absorbs moonlight and turns into a supercharged destructive beam that could do some serious damage to the villages," Totosai interrupted.

"Fine, we'll go find this Kurosaki Gekkou to get his assistance in return from releasing him from this seal," Hachi said, giving in. "Where do we find him?"

"He was sealed inside a cave in the northern most mountains in Haru no Kuni," answered Totosai.

"Very well, we better get going then," Hachi said.

'_Good, everything is starting to fall into place for me. I just need Sumi to complete his mission I sent him on so that brat nephew of mine and his damned Sensei won't get in my way,_' Totosai thought.

**FLASHBACK:**

_"Now that you've taken the lead over Tatsumaki, what do we do now Hachi?" asked Totosai._

_"We'll head for Iwakagure, where I can kill the Tsuchikage and begin my quest for shinobi reform," Hachi replied._

_Hachi walked to the exit of the hideout they were in and several of the Tatsumaki followed suit. As Sho was walking past Totosai, he stopped him in his tracks. Before Totosai could say anything, Sho spoke first._

_"Just because this Hachi bastard killed Ookawa, you going to let him run the Tatsumaki?" asked Sho._

_"Don't worry about Hachi, I'll deal with him when the time comes, I have a different job for you," Totosai responded._

_"What is it?" asked Sho._

_"I've entered Sumi and two other orphan children spies of mine into Konohagakure's coming Chunin exams. They're disguised as Amegakure-nin. I want you to disguise yourself as their sensei," Totosai explained._

_"I can't do it, Hataka Kakashi is from Konohagakure and we fought back in Nami no Kuni, he'll spot me in a heartbeat," Sho protested._

_"Use the Henge no Jutsu to disgusie yourself as a different person, baka!" Totosai yelled._

_"Fine, but I have to ask, what's the purpose of this?" Sho asked._

_"I want Sumi to kill my nephew Hiroshi," answered Totosai. "With Uzumaki Naruto as his sensei, he could very easily become a thorn to the organization, I need to get rid of a problem before it becomes a problem."_

_"Well, I guess I'll do it then," Sho said._

_"Good, now get going. Konohagakure's Chunin exam will begin any time now and just makes sure you keep yourself hidden when the exams are not going on, I don't need you getting spotted by Kakashi," stated Totosai._

**End of Flashback.**

* * *

Naruto stared up at the clouds, something he hadn't done since the academy with Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba when they would sneak out of Iruka-sensei's classes. It was fifteen minutes to noon, also when the Chunin exams would begin. He sat up to see his students were returning with the form in hand.

'_I wonder if they decided to enter the exams or not,_' Naruto thought.

Hiroshi, Himawari and Shiro handed their form to Naruto filled out. Naruto smiled as he took the forms from their hands.

"So you all decided to take the exam after all," Naruto said.

"Yes, we sure did. We are ready!" Hiroshi said, excited.

"So when is the exam going to start?" asked Shiro.

"The exam starts in about ten minutes," Naruto said, smirking.

"Ten minutes?!" yelled Hiroshi. "What the hell do you mean it's starting in ten minutes?!"

"I mean that it starts in ten minutes," Naruto answered. "A part of being a Chunin, is being ready to take on any kind of mission at a moments notice. You never know when you'll be called upon a emergancy mission that needs handling right away. This first test is going to test you on mission readiness and your skills in finding objectives."

"We already failed then," Hiroshi whined.

"You have your ninja gear with you now, right?" Naruto asked and the three Genin nodded their head yes.

"Then you're ready," Naruto said. "Now there are thirty-two teams that entered the Chunin exams this year, but unfortunately that number needs to be cut in half so hidden throughtout the village is sixteen scrolls. Once you find a scroll, you must bring it to the village gate which is the safe zone."

"What do you mean the village gate is the safe zone?" asked Hiroshi.

"Since there is thirty-two teams and only sixteen can make it to the second test, you might be attacked by another team. The village gate being the safe zone, so once you reach the gate with the scroll, no other team can attack you for it, otherwise, they are disqualified," Naruto answered.

"So we must find a scroll ourselves or fight another team and steal theirs then?" asked Himawari.

"Yes," reponded Naruto. "You only need one scroll, if you reach the gate with more than one, you'll be disqualified for that as well."

The bell on the alarm clock Naruto had brought out went off, signaling it was noon.

"That ringing means the Chunin exams have begun," Naruto began. "Good luck my team, now head into the village and find yourselves a scroll!"

"Hai, Naruto-sensei, we'll make you proud!" Hiroshi exclaimed and they ran off back into the village as Naruto watched with a smile.

'_I hope they are really ready for this,_' Naruto thought.

* * *

"The Chunin exams have finally began," Tsunade said.

"Yep, and I've informed Izumo and Kotetsu that they'll be the proctor's at the gate handling the teams that come with scrolls we've scattered across the village," Shizune said.

"Good, oh by the way Shizune, any sightings of the Tatsumaki yet?" asked Tsuande.

"Still no sightings of them," Shizune replied. "I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

Tsunade sighed, "Just keep me informed if anything new on the Tatsumaki come up."

"Of course."

* * *

Translations:

**Hi no Kuni:** Land of Fire  
**Iwagakure:** Hidden Stone  
**Tsukiton: Gekkou Sanryoukou no Jutsu:** Lunar Release: Moonlight Prism Technique**  
**Haru no Kuni:** Land of Spring  
**Amegakure:** Hidden Rain

**Next Up: Hunt**

** = Tsukiton would actually be 'Moon Release' but I wanted to call this ninjutsu 'Lunar Release' so I went with Tsukiton since there isn't a japanese word I'm aware of for Lunar.


End file.
